Is Phil Stacey headed to Iraq?

Maybe it's fitting that Phil Stacey was the first contestant to be eliminated from American Idol after President Bush shifted the spotlight from his Iraq withdrawal veto with an awkward Idol appearance (those Fox News connections pay off).

Iraq could be Phil's next stop.

The chrome dome crooner is an active duty petty officer 3rd class and vocalist with the Navy Band Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida. And the Navy has been very excited that one of its own has become a star (last night, Phil sang part of his farewell number with his arms around two Navy buddies). And the military wants to make the most of it.

The top 10 Idol finishers are set to go on tour this summer. Phil could be allowed to participate as part of a recruiting assignment, the Navy could force him to use personal leave, or they could release him from his military obligation. But the Navy has reason to want to hang onto the bald-headed belter.

The LA Times reports that the USO is finding few stars willing to go to Iraq. With Phil Stacey, the military has a singing star they can order to perform anywhere.

Phil is the lead singer of Pride, the Navy's rock band. They usually play at high schools or at recruiting events. But Phil could be reassigned or asked to volunteer for a musical tour in Iraq, Afghanistan or the two naval carrier groups stationed in the Persian Gulf.

Neither the Navy nor Pentagon are saying what's next for Phil. But one Navy officer told the Times: "I would rather have Sanjaya deploy."

Must make Chris Richardson feel lucky.

(Phil should have thought twice before choosing to sing "I'm going out in a blaze of glory"-- it was an invitation, reminiscent of Elliot Yamin singing Michael Buble's "I wanna go home... let me go home..." last season.)

Published by NewsGasm

Cabriolet Brian Jessel BMW Fashion Gala 2007

The 2nd Annual Brian Jessel BMW Fashion Gala look place May 3rd and was once again a high end experience. Like last year’s show, the caliber of this year’s event was clearly over and above any other local events that I’ve previously attended. Yes, I’m sorry Ian. It’s even better than the Affiliate Dinner. Believe me, I attend a lot of parties and I throw a few too, but for Vancouver, this was definitely in a league of its own.

Brian Jessel BMW is one of North America’s most high tech dealerships. The transformation from automobile dealership to high end fashion runway was no less than astounding. The crew worked nonstop to have everything resemble a world class fashion show venue and I heard that they worked till 3 AM the same night to put everything back. This included cleaning up and driving all the cars back into the showroom before opening. However, it was worth it because this event this year would be supporting the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre Foundation and the Prostate Center at Vancouver General Hospital; two worthy causes.

Guests were treated to an open bar that served fine wines, martinis, and yes, even high end beers, while Vancouver’s finest high end restaurants served exquisite appetizers to Vancouver’s Elite in attendance. Restaurants included Joe Fortes (Awesome Oyster Bar! Mmm!), Elixir Restaurant, Quattro on 4th, Raincity Grill, RARE Restaurant, Savory Coast, and Terra Breads. C Restaurant was also part of the festivities. Although they didn’t really impress me when I dined with them earlier this year, I was impressed that they weren’t above helping out some great charities.

Not to be outdone, the folks from The Original Cupcakes store sent a few ambassadors out to get people excited about cupcakes. Don’t they make you excited about cupcakes? It’s nice to see that even a cupcake store takes time out to help others. They ended up handing out miniature versions of their prized cupcakes after the fashion show and of course, I had to have one…or two…or three…

Meanwhile, a live band called “Token Rhyme” played on in the background as attendees made their way into the venue. Charity auction tables where generous local businesses donated some wonderful prizes, also lined the venue, hoping to grab the highest possible bids and raise a load of money for some great charities. Kelly ended up spending about $400 in the name of charity. I guess next time she’ll keep track of how many prizes she bids on. Whoops!

Celebrity MC’s, Coleen Christie and Mike Kileen from CTV hosted the event. Both of them did a very fine job of MC’ing and breaking the ice with the crowd. They played a bit of heads and tails with the crowd which eventually ended up in someone walking away with a one year lease on a BMW 323i. That’s not a bad prize. It’s ALMOST like winning a car….almost.

Of course, everyone was waiting for th HOT Grand Finale. The models strutted hard and put on some very fierce poses. I almost liked it better than the LG Lingerie Show but given the fact that the models in Whistler had to endure standing out in the middle of the cold and managed not to slide off the catwalk even in a snowstorm, I’ll have to give them the top prize. If you’re into scantily clad models strutting down the runway, you might want to check out my Cabriolet Brian Jessel BMW 2007 PhotoGallery.

As the evening came to a close, Brian Jessel himself took center stage to thank everyone for coming and gave a shout out to all the sponsors that made this event a success including main sponsors HUGO BOSS and Harry Rosen. The event was very well done, attracted a whole bunch of people, and raised a whole bunch of money for some great causes. Brian has a lot to be happy about.

A High End event just wouldn’t be one without the goodie bag! Everyone that attended got one of these little goodie bags which contained Michael Buble’s latest CD “Call Me Irresponsible”, a cool Harry Rosen Silver Shoehorn, a HUGO Boss hat and some other fashionable doodads.

Thanks again to Kenneth and John from Brian Jessel BMW for inviting me out to this most excellent event. Can’t wait to go again in 2008!

Tuesday is the new Friday

I had the day off today. Woke up this morning and it was 20' outside. Outstanding.

Watched a bit of Monster-in-Law on TV this morning. Frig it was funny. I love Wanda Sykes. Went to the mall this afternoon in search of a birthday present, and came home with a birthday present and Michael Buble's new CD for myself. I'm going to rip it to my iPod tonight so I'll have something new to listen to for the way in to work tomorrow.

Forgot to tell this story, but on Sunday at the family expo, the Kids' CBC show was starting when I was on break so I thought it was safe to sit in and watch Mark and Lunar Jim for a minute. Then didn't I get busted by a co-worker. "I hate to interrupt you," he said. "You looked like you were really enjoying that."

Embarrassing!

But not going to worry. I'm off to meet a friend for dinner.