His personal life was troubled, but there’s no doubt that for many years he was an inspiration to millions of people around the world.

Rest in Peace

Tonight I watched the animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight which I rented via iTunes. It was designed as a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and depicts some of Batman earliest battles, whilst also exploring some aspects of Bruce Wayne’s origins and his path towards becoming Batman.

Though the movie works well as an anthology, the work of different animation teams is apparent in the disparate animation styles. I felt that this worked well as it showed that although Batman’s core values shone through in each story, he could be viewed through a range of perspectives.

This point was explored in the first tale which featured a group of kids who’d each had encounters with Batman and had a different interpretation on what they’d seen. The second story featured a cop who imagined Batman to be a dangerous vigilante, until personal experience of Batman changed his mind. The other four chapters focussed on Bruce Wayne/Batman himself; his values, his fears, his strengths and his motivations.

Overall, it was a great way to re-immerse myself in the legend and the mythology of this most human of super-heroes.

Urban Recluse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

By the way, I’m really baffled about the reports that Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his mother and sister. I’m hoping that it’s not as awful as it sounds.

Sienna Miller heals Balthazar Getty with breast therapy as he struggles with the guilt over the breakdown of his marriage. (via Webster’s is My Bitch)

I’m still fairly friendly with Dirk, the married guy who has wanted me for ages. I’ve got to be careful with him though. Today he tried to manoeuvre me into a dark place in order to have some sort of adulterous contact, but I resisted his amorous advances and stayed out of his clutches. A few minutes after, I recalled a line from The Lord’s Prayer, despite the fact that I gave up Catholicism more than a decade ago: “And lead us not into temptation.” Fear of sinning wasn’t what stopped me from succumbing though, I just didn’t want to become entangled in such a messy situation. I’ve suggested so many things to him, (talking to his wife, marriage counselling, using a prostitute, etc.) but he doesn’t want my advice…

Of course I fancy him – in his twenties he was a professional model, and even at 39 years of age he’s the best looking man who’s ever shown an interest in me – but I don’t see the point in being more than friends with him. His main focuses are his penis, and maintaining the lifestyle that he has set up for himself; although he is fond of me and often says that I’m a “nice person”, he’s all about his own needs. That said, I like him as a friend; he’s quite a character, but even if he wasn’t married I doubt we’d be a good match for a relationship as he’s too selfish, unfocussed and unsubtle.

Perhaps Sienna feels justified in stealing the affections of a married man, but I wonder what the future holds for this tainted love.

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France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni, is apparently upset about the reappearance of some nude pics she modelled for during her modelling career. I don’t think she should be embarrassed at all; what’s done is done, and she looks amazing. Sure, it’s probably not totally appropriate for her current position as Mrs Sarkozy, but you have to own your actions, and posing nude, like having a tattoo, is something you may have to live with for the rest of your life.

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I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but if I were the subject of the Lucien Freud’s painting, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, 1995, I would not be proud at all, never mind that it’s expected to become the most expensive picture by a living artist ever sold. Actually the subject doesn’t look half as bad in reality as he made her look in the painting, but I guess that’s art for you.

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There’s a rumour going around that Shakira was involved in a ménage à trois on a yacht with her boyfriend Antonio de la Rúa and singer Alejandro Sanz, which was captured on videotape… Shakira denies the whole thing, but if it were true I’d be very proud of her. Hetero men are always going on about their fantasy of having a threesome with a couple of women, basically because they love the idea of being able to satisfy two women at once, and that both women would lavish their attention on them. The thought of sharing a woman with another bloke repels them not just due to the possible bisexual connotations, but because of the competition factor. If Shakira was able to convince two apparently hetero guys to service her every wish, and then record it for posterity, then all power to her!

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After being banned by British Airways and arrested for acting like a complete knob, Naomi Campbell insists that she was mistreated because she’s black. No darling, you were punished for disrupting a flight, spitting on a cop and abusing crew members. You weren’t the only one to have been inconvenienced by the chaos at Heathrow Terminal 5, but I’m pretty sure that you’re the only one who made such a complete fool of yourself. Unlike most people whose suitcases went missing during the chaos, you can afford to replace every single item without a problem. The chances are that your suitcase will turn up eventually, but in any case there’s no excuse for attacking people in the way that you did. You need to sort out that anger of yours before you kill someone else or yourself.

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It looks like I might be staying with my parents for a while longer. The Bank of England cut interests rates by a quarter this week, but in reality it’s not going to mean much to those with mortgages as the global banking crisis and the threat of recession continue to hold our banks by the balls. Banks are becoming much stricter on people applying for mortgages, so you’d be hard-pressed to find a 100% mortgage anywhere now, and a sizeable deposit is also necessary for any chance of getting finance for a home. It does look like house prices are starting to decrease now, though it was inevitable really as first-time buyers were being priced out of the market. While the average salary in London is £25,000-35,000, the average home is about ten times higher, making it impossible for the average person to afford their own home.

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The electric guitar I won arrived a couple of days ago, but we’re not hitting it off totally. I think it needs new strings but I’m not bothered enough to even replace them. I wouldn’t mind having a nice electro-acoustic number, but I don’t think this one is really me. It was fun to try it out though, and even my dad had a go with it earlier. I’ll probably put it on ebay in a few days, or if you’d like an electric guitar with all the fixings (apart from an amp) and you’re in the UK (preferably), feel free to contact me.

Madonna. Justin. Timbaland. 4 Minutes.

I’m not loving this one, guys. Funny cos I love each of these artists, but the song isn’t about anything really. 4 minutes to save the world from what? These guys are only saving me from buying this single.

It’s catchy and all, but I’m not feeling the faux-brass riff going on in the background, and the video is a bit disturbing with all those yucky flesh cutouts. That snog was nasty!

Madonna looks amazing though, some are saying that she was airbrushed, but I don’t know… professional makeup can hide anything…

My favourite singer, Mariah Carey, arrived at Mayfair at 2.30am this morning and greeted a large crowd of adoring fans.

The eccentric diva was wearing just a black bin liner under her jacket, and clutched a copy of the Big Issue magazine, which she’d purchased from a homeless man outside Selfridges.

When asked about her unusual outfit, she told reporters:

“Looks aren’t important, it’s what’s inside that counts. My job is to sing, not to be a sex object. The music business is so superficial, and I’m using my position to take a stand against it.”

Good on ya, girl!

Pregnancy seems to be an infectious condition in Hollywood right now. Half the women on the Academy Awards’ red carpet seemed to be sporting those fashionable bumps. Here are some celebrities who are either currently up the duff or have recently given birth to their babes. Pregnancy definitely seems to suit these women…

Halle Berry

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Xtina

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Angelina Jolie

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Jessica Alba

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Jennifer Lopez

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Nicole Richie

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Cate Blanchett

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Nicole Kidman

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Video: A Song for Mama by Boyz II Men

[Show as slideshow]

Thinking about it with some hindsight, I can now admit that Geri Halliwell is my favourite Spice Girl. She was the first to leave the group in 1998, and the first to start her solo career (despite her obvious lack of vocal prowess) and secured several UK #1 singles.

Even more importantly, she handled the scandal about her pre-Spice topless pics with the nonchalance that it deserved. If you’re hoping to be a successful performer and someone asks you to pose topless or naked, do it if you want, but remember that it’s bound to appear at a later date when you’d rather not have the world looking at your bits. And the likelihood of that happening is almost a certainty in this age of the internet, digital cameras and camera phones. So if you’ve posed nude, and have subsequently become famous, don’t sweat it, move on.

Anyway, here’s one of my favourite vids by Ms H: Bag It Up.

And some interesting quotes of hers:

• I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m damn well gonna do it!
• I have got one of those faces that change every day: you can dress me up, make me look vampy and then make me look 12 years old. But don’t all women do this thing? We all take on these roles.
• Competition is for dogs and horses.
• In school nativity plays I was always the bloody little donkey, I was never Mary.
• Who knows just where I’m going? … Does tomorrow belong to me?

I couldn’t believe it when my friend told me the news. I initially thought it was a hoax.

I was already looking forward to seeing Heath in the Dark Knight, but knowing it was his last completed movie will give it added poignancy for me. He was a very talented actor, and the whole situation is so sad.

During a recent interview promoting his new film, I am Legend, Will Smith expanded on a comment he had made about his belief that the human mind is inherently good, by saying:

Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘let me do the most evil thing I can do today.’ I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good.’

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would not think that he was condoning Hitler’s actions or beliefs in this statement, but merely attempting to explain how someone could choose to commit diabolically evil acts in the belief that they are doing good work. Perhaps Will could have chosen his words more carefully and/or spoken about dictators in general, but I think his intention and meaning was clear.

As a result of that comment, there have been calls to boycott Smith’s films. He responded to those threats with the following statement:

It speaks to the dangerous power of an ignorant person with a pen. I am incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation. Adolf Hitler was a vile, heinous vicious killer responsible for one of the greatest acts of evil committed on this planet.

Well said.

I’m not saying that Smith is perfect though, after all he is mates with Tom Cruise…

Sources: Info – Pics