Matt Saracen deals with his emotions following the death of his father.

How do you grieve for someone you hate? And what if that someone you hate is your own father?

These are delicate questions asked, but never answered, in the best episode of season four of “Friday Night Lights” featuring a heartbreaking performance by Zach Gilford in the title role of “The Son.”

The episode opens with East Dillon once again getting pummeled, when a funny thing happens. The Lions, led by Luke and Laur … Um, Luke and Vince go against the wishes of Coach Taylor, running a wildcat play that results in a touchdown by Vince. Taylor, of course, is not happy. But he’s also not stupid.

He promises to open up the offense when they get the ball back and, in true Hollywood fashion, Vince immediately delivers. This sets up Vince’s long pass to, you guessed it, Luke, since apparently the Lions only have two players on their team. Make that three if you count Twinkle Toes Landry.

Matt watches a video his father sent two Christmases ago featuring a painfully uncomfortable Henry passing along holiday wishes from Iraq. In just a few seconds, Matt and Henry’s relationship is summed up with Henry, wearing a Santa Claus cap, awkwardly trying to do the right thing and Matt watching uncomfortably.

Vince is named co-conference player of the week with T.J. McCoy, the spawn of Evil Joe McCoy. At the pancake breakfast honoring the players, Vince is asked to say a few words to the Pop Warner kids in attendance. Borrowing from the advice he received while learning how to steal a car, he instructs the little ones to “don’t panic, be cool, get paid.”

Funny, that’s the same advice my dad gave me on the farm a couple decades ago  …

Tim endures the Miss Young Texas Pageant – including one contestant rockin’ the xylophone! -  so he can support Becky, whose cougar bartender mama decides that backstage at a beauty pageant is as good a place as any to scream at your ex for not showing up. Classy lady, that Cheryl …

At Henry’s wake, Matt receives condolences and meets the service man who escorted Henry’s body home. Since the service man didn’t know Henry, he asked around about him and tells Matt what a cut-up his father was. “He was a good soldier,” Matt says, “but he was not funny … ever. I never saw him smile.”

What made me smile is when Evil Joe and Evil J.D. show up at the Saracen household and Matt promptly slams the door in their faces.

Tami takes Matt to the Grief Store, the classy strip mall funeral home in charge of arrangements. As the owner gives Matt the hard sell, he realizes he hasn’t seen his father’s body yet and asks to see it. Considering Henry died after stepping on an IED, the funeral home owner advises him that that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Coach Taylor is watching a college football game starring “Smash” Williams (nice to hear that name again) when Tami and Julie get home. Seeing his daughter is hurting, Taylor pulls her close to him and simply says “I’m not going anywhere.” At that moment, that’s all that she needs.

After downing a few brews with Tim, Billy and Landry on the football field (Why are the lights on the football field always on? For a district that can’t afford library improvements, maybe it should take a hard look at its electric bill …), the four go to the Grief Store, where a  blitzed Matt insists on seeing his father. Granted his wish, he is devastated when he sees that his father “doesn’t have a face.”

Sitting outside his trailer drinking, Riggins is joined by Becky, who makes her move and, for probably the first time in his life, Riggins turns a woman down. An upset Becky goes to the local convenience store for some snacks and a 12 pack, where she conveniently runs into a shirtless Luke, who’s fresh off a falling-out with Evil J.D. Impressed by the fake ID he produces to buy her beer, and his shirtlessness, Becky agrees to go with him to wash his pickup.

Matt arrives late to dinner at the Taylors and mumbles about how he doesn’t like carrots and doesn’t like it when the carrots touch his meat. He then apologizes for being so rude and runs out the house. Taylor follows him out and after catching up to his former quarterback, he doesn’t try to comfort him. He simply tells him he’s going to walk him home. At that moment, that’s all that Matt needs.

At Henry’s grave site, family and friends pay their condolences, including Lila, who shares a couple quick glances with Riggins. Lila’s return is a nice touch, but cowboy boots at a funeral? Really? Must be a Texas thing …

Wanting to tell everyone what he really thought of his father, Matt, of course, bites his tongue. He does tell a story about when he was 6 years old and his father cracked him up by stacking toilet paper into a supermarket cart. It’s a simple, heartfelt story and probably one of the few pleasant memories Matt had of his father.

As the guests leave, Matt remains behind with Julie as “Driveway” by Great Northern softly plays.

If you’re looking out your window
And you say you’re gone
And you’re staring at the ceiling
And where we’re from
Remember when you wake up
Don’t forget, turn out the light
Cause i’m looking out my window for you every night

Matt then takes a shovel and scoops dirt on his father.

My all-time favorite Lights episode is last season’s “New York New York” — the scene where Jason gets his girlfriend back while Riggins watches gets to me every time I watch it — but “The Son” is a close second. Gilford does an amazing job displaying the pain he feels at his father’s death, the pain of loss, the pain of grieving for someone who never was there for him, someone he never even knew.

Leave it to “Friday Night Lights” to continue to set the standard for dramatic television. The show has gotten a few shout-outs of late, with ABC Family announcing it will start showing reruns of the show in September, and a story in this week’s Sports Illustrated praising Brad Leland’s stellar work as Buddy Garrity. Maybe the extra attention finally will draw a few more viewers who will quickly learn that Lights is much more than simply a show about high school football in Texas.

The son of actress Cybill Shepherd has entered a pretrial program in Pennsylvania requiring his attendance at 24 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the hopes of clearing his record of theft charges.

Cyrus Shepherd-Oppenheim of Sebastopol, Calif., was admitted into the program Friday by Philadelphia Municipal Judge Georganne Daher. The arrangement was part of an agreement with prosecutors.

The 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania student was charged with stealing cash, a camera and other items from carry-on luggage during a United Airlines flight in January. If he completes the program, the charges will be cleared from his record.

Shepherd-Oppenheim declined comment following the hearing. He is the son of the star of the 1980s “Moonlighting” television show and her ex-husband, chiropractor Bruce Oppenheim.

Twilight star Kristen Stewart is apologizing for comments she made in Britain’s ELLE comparing her life in the spotlight and being photographed by the paparazzi to a sexual assault.

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“The photos are so … I feel like I’m looking at someone being raped. A lot of the time I can’t handle it. I never expected that this would be my life,” she said in the interview.

Photos: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s ‘Twilight’ Romance

But the 20-year-old star admitted Friday that “I really made an enormous mistake — clearly and obviously.”

“And I’m really sorry about my choice of words. … I’ve made stupid remarks before, and I’ve always reasoned: ‘Whatever. They can think what they want.’ ‘Violated’ definitely would have been a better way of expressing the thought,” she told People.

“People thinking that I’m insensitive about this subject rips my guts out. I made a big mistake,” she added.

DEPARTMENT STORE EVENTS

Saks Fifth Avenue, The Gardens Mall, (561) 694-9009:

Cellcosmet – Facial event, today-Saturday

Sisley – Facial event, Thursday

OTHER EVENTS

C. Orrico – Shopping event to benefit Young Friends of Cleveland Clinic Florida, June 11, 336 S. County Road, Palm Beach, (561) 659-7820.

- Staci Sturrock, Palm Beach Post

Fashion Editor

SHELF LIFE OF MAKEUP:

Mascara: 3 months. Never keep longer because air pushes bacteria back into the tube whenever it is used.

Eye/lip pencils: 1 year. Try to sharpen once a week to clean off bacteria.

Foundation: 3-6 months. Discard when the ingredients begin to separate in the container.

Facial Cleaners/ Moisturizers: 6 months

Brushes: Clean weekly using a mild detergent

Concealer: 6-8 months

Powder: 1 year

Lip gloss/lipstick: 1 year

Sunscreens: Up to 3 years

TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MAKEUP:

Throw away makeup if the color changes or you smell an unusual aroma.

Don’t share cosmetics.

Avoid putting your fingers into the product. Use the applicator provided, or a makeup sponge instead.

Keep containers tightly closed, and store them in a cool, dry place.

Since they all provided a similar color on my fair skin and cost roughly the same price, I have to side with the one that smells the best – Jergens Natural Glow Express. I also like that it had a creamier consistency and didn’t claim to perform any miracles that it was unable to produce. My skin did not feel any firmer, and I found no proof that I was able to shave any less with the Nivea products. Neutogena’s Build-a-Tan was effective, but the smell was just too powerful.

Rhonda Swan, 46

As a woman of color, I don’t spend much time purposely trying to darken my skin. This was definitely a new experience. One I doubt I would repeat. The day I tried the Neutrogena product I spent several hours playing tennis. I definitely was browner at the end of the day, but surely most of the credit goes to that big yellow ball in the sky. The Nivea Beautiful Legs has a nice scent, but I disliked the watery consistency. Also, it gave me very little difference in skin shade. The Jergens was the richest and creamiest. It works well as a moisturizer. Not so well as a tanning product on my skin tone.

Liz Balmaseda, 51

I tried the Nivea "Sun-Kissed" lotion on my legs because of its reported shave-minimizing effects. Pleasantly fragrant, it proved to work rather quickly, deepening the shade within a day. However, I noticed no shave-minimizing super-powers. I tried the Neutrogena "Build-a-Tan" on my arms and found it worked nicely – but I really disliked the plastic smell. My favorite is the Jergens "Natural Glow," a creamy, easy-to-apply moisturizer with a fresh, beachy scent.

Sally Sevareid, ‘The Mo and Sally Morning Show,’ KOOL 105.5

I divided up my body into four parts: The two Niveas each got a leg, the Neutrogena my left arm, Jergens my right. I got great color from all four, in fact I could not tell them apart. I did not notice any skin firming on the leg that received Nivea’s Firming formula nor did I have to shave less often on the leg where I applied Nivea’s Beautiful Legs. I’ve tried more expensive department store sunless tanners, and I am happy to tell you these work just as well.

Amy Royster, 33

All of these products gave me a gradual tan that deepened with each application. I was impressed that none of them created that infamous orange color that was a hallmark of earlier self-tanning products. But be careful. There is a saturation point for medium skin tones: By day five, the product I was applying to my chest built up to the point that my already freckled skin looked mottled. Bottom line: Jergens is my favorite. Neutrogena smelled too strong. And the Nivea products worked, but did not provide the added benefits promised.

Sally Sevareid’s % self-tanning tips

1. All lotions remind you to wash your hands after applying. That is very important.

2. You will also get the best results if you exfoliate your skin before each application.

3. Make sure you wipe excess product from your knees and elbows where skin is thinner and a build-up of product will create a darker, uneven color.

4. The hardest body part to tan with a lotion is your feet. Keep it away from your heels and apply sparingly so you don’t end up with orange heels.

5. One more general rule about these lotions: No matter what they say, your tan will rub off on your clothing and your towels, so watch it when you wear white.

During the event, June 10-12, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund. Restaurants that are able to, also will feature seafood from the Gulf.

To find a restaurant participating in the benefit, click here.

“It’s good that we establish a conversation on the meaning of something like this,” says chef and restaurateur Jose Andres, who is participating in the event at all his restaurants, including The Bazaar in Los Angeles and Jaleo in Washington.

The campaign was started by Jimmy Galle, founder of Gulfish LP, a small company based in Sausalito that supplies Gulf seafood to restaurants in Northern California.

Galle, a native of Texas, said he “felt compelled to do something. I spent my summers on those coastal shores. It’s where I’m from, so it’s very personal.”

Details of the campaign are still being worked out. Some restaurants will donate a portion of overall profits; others will donate based on sales of specific dishes or cocktails. And since fresh seafood supplies fluctuate — and not all the participating restaurants specialize in seafood — it’s not clear how many will be serving food from the Gulf.

The point, says Galle, is to support the industry and let diners know it’s OK to eat Gulf seafood.

“Those guys are facing so much turmoil and such an uncertain future,” he said of the region’s seafood industry. “If the consumer turns away from consumption of Gulf seafood, it’s kind of like a final nail in the coffin.”

It’s not clear what the oil spill, which began following an April 20 oil rig explosion that also killed 11 workers, will mean for the region’s fishing industry or for the restaurant industry that relies on it.

Commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico caught more than 1 billion pounds of seafood in 2008 for about $659 million in revenue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Many estimates put the Gulf Coast as supplying one-fifth of the nation’s commercial fish and shellfish.

Since the spill, about one-third of the Gulf waters have been closed to fishing.

A key concern is whether fish become contaminated by crude oil. Government officials say rigorous inspections mean it’s never been safer to eat Gulf seafood.

At Chez Panisse, the renowned Berkeley restaurant founded by Alice Waters, Cal Peternell is still thinking about what to serve during the fundraising event.

The restaurant’s menu changes daily and it will depend on what’s available, but possibilities include shrimp roasted whole in a wood-oven or perhaps a classic variation on shrimp and grits, a Southern dish, using soft polenta with fresh corn kernels and shrimp sauteed with onion, peppers and celery.

Supporting local, sustainable food producers is a big part of the Chez Panisse ethic, says Peternell, chef of the restaurant’s upstairs cafe. Waters also has a close tie to the area, having founded one of her Edible Schoolyards in New Orleans.

Peternell might be worried about buying fish from the Gulf these days if he weren’t using a trusted supplier, Galle, who is keeping customers informed about closures and sending maps showing which fishing grounds produced the fish being sold.

Galle says he’s “still seeing beautiful product on a daily basis.” He hopes consumers and restaurants will continue to support the industry beyond the June campaign.

“They’re all hard-working fishermen and they just want to keep living the life that they love. It’s not just about fishing. That whole coast is their social fabric,” he says. “It’s where they work, it’s what they eat, it’s where they live, it’s where they play. It’s kind of like their family jewel that they really hold very dearly and want to pass on to future generations.”

The Greater New Orleans Foundation created the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund to help the communities hit hardest by the spill. It also is meant to help strengthen coastal communities against future environmental catastrophes. It is estimated that there are 6,400 licensed commercial fishermen in the region that could be affected by the spill.

Is your restaurant participating? Leave a note in the comments below.

The Los Angeles Dodgers say they’ve resolved a dispute with comedian and actor Jon Lovitz over nearly $100,000 in unpaid tickets.

The Dodgers sued Lovitz and others last month over nonpayment for the 2010 season seats, which are located behind home plate. In a statement released Friday, the team says it resolved the case “very quickly, very amicably, and to the satisfaction of both parties.”

The Dodgers also say Lovitz is a friend and welcome back at the stadium any time.

Attempts to contact Lovitz were unsuccessful.

A mechanic was convicted Friday of burglary in the theft of Kirsten Dunst’s $2,000 designer purse and actor Simon Pegg’s cell phone and other items from a chic hotel, a 2007 heist that forced the co-stars to twice play the part of witnesses.

James Jimenez, who said he just tagged along on what he thought was a co-defendant’s legitimate errand, was convicted of trespassing after a trial last fall. But that jury deadlocked on the more serious burglary charge, spurring a retrial that brought the actors back to the witness stand this week.

Their roles were simple: They explained that their possessions disappeared from a SoHo Grand Hotel penthouse suite they were using as a lounge during filming for “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People,” and that they didn’t know the men they later saw ambling around the penthouse floor on surveillance video.

The star witnesses added a dash of Hollywood to the Manhattan trials and gave jurors a behind-the-scenes look at moviemaking.

Dunst, best known for her roles in the “Super-Man” series, and Pegg, whose credits include last year’s “Star Trek” movie, described details ranging from the duties of a third assistant director to their takeout dinner from the high-end sushi restaurant Nobu.

A representative for Dunst didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail inquiry after the verdict. Pegg’s spokeswoman declined to comment.

Jimenez, 36, faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing, set for June 23. He still maintains his innocence and plans to appeal, said his lawyer, Robert Parker.

After filming overnight elsewhere in the hotel on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9, 2007, the actors returned to the suite to prepare to go home around 4 a.m. They soon realized Dunst’s Balenciaga handbag was gone — and with it her wallet, vintage Ray-Ban sunglasses and $2,000 in cash — as well as Pegg’s phone, iPod and camera with 300 pictures he’d taken, according to their testimony.

The actors alerted hotel security staffers and police and did some sleuthing themselves: “We even went outside to look for our bags, like maybe it was dumped in a Dumpster,” Dunst testified Tuesday.

Jimenez was captured on a security video carrying a shopping bag that prosecutors believe held the actors’ possessions.

He testified that he just followed co-defendant Jarrod Beinerman, thinking Beinerman had permission for what they were doing. Beinerman pleaded guilty in 2008 to attempted burglary and is serving 4 1/2 years in prison.

Sheryl Crow is the mother of another baby boy.

The singer-songwriter announced Friday that she has adopted another son, Levi James, who was born April 30.

The 47-year-old shared the news on her website, and her publicist confirmed the adoption.

She wrote that “Wyatt has a new little brother!” referring to her 3-year-old son, who is also adopted.

The Grammy winner has also appeared on ABC’s “Cougar Town” this year.

By DAVID ROGERS

Reading about scientific forces is informative.

But children often learn best when they interact with devices that demonstrate important concepts.

That’s the premise behind “Science in Toyland,” the newest exhibit at the South Florida Science Museum.

Seven stations, including the tournament of tops, a domino challenge and bridges and cranes, teach children about gravity, momentum, acceleration and other phenomena while they play, according to Rachel Docekal, the museum’s development officer.

Click here for more on this story at PalmBeachDailyNews.com.

Alexander, 26, has been a South Beach call boy for nine years and takes his job seriously. “I don’t call it escorting anymore,” he says. “It’s my profession.”

He’s one of 40 men profiled in Escort, a book by Miami Beach authors David Leddick and Heriberto Sanchez and photographer David Vance that has morphed into an adult “docu-musical” titled Escorts, being performed this weekend at Rising Action Theatre in Oakland Park.

“I think the play is great,” Alexander said during a rehearsal in a condo rec room on Meridian Avenue, a few blocks from where he grew up and got into the business — cruising South Beach alleys for sex.

“I have no shame what I’ve done,” he says. “I’ve never harmed anyone. I’ve given hugs to people when they needed it. I’ve enjoyed everything about it.”

Alexander (not his real name) says his parents, who still live here, know he’s gay but not about his career. “These things are left unsaid,” he says.

Many of Alexander’s clients are tourists, which he prefers. “I’m not a big local fan,” says the young man, who’d rather advertise for new business in local gay guides than websites like Rentboy. He also depends on word of mouth. “I work for myself. I have my regulars.”

Alexander doesn’t say how much money he makes, but it’s enough to pay for travel in Europe and an apartment on West Avenue. Still, he doesn’t recommend escorting for everyone.

“If you want to get into this business, think about it twice,” he says. “You get used to the money, but your looks can fade. What you hold in your soul, hold on to.”

Leddick paid Alexander and the other men in his book $100 each to be interviewed.

“What’s most fascinating to me was the clients,” Leddick says. “It’s part of American hypocrisy — all the married men who are running around with other men. And their homosexual lives are more important to them than their heterosexual lives.

“Fifty percent of their clients are [straight] married men,” Leddick says. “And a lot of the gay men who go to escorts are quite young. There are a lot of men between 28 and 40 who have enough money to afford them. You spend that much money going out anyway, you might as well know what you’re getting.”

Gay escorts in South Florida usually charge at least $200 an hour, says Leddick, 80, who grew up in an era in which sex between men was never spoken about.

“In my youth, a lot of gay men liked the illicit aspect of it. Even Liberace wasn’t out. We’ve become so liberated that it’s not such an illicit aspect anymore.”

In fact, says Leddick, for many men today, “hiring an escort is just another sexual activity.”

The art that City Theatre creates is short but only sometimes sweet.

The bite-sized comedies, dramas and monologues that City serves up during its annual Summer Shorts Festival can also be hilarious, edgy, enlightening, devastating. At its best, the festival provides potent theater in concentrated form.

In the 15 years since producer Stephanie Norman, playwright Susan Westfall and actor Elena Wohl sat around a kitchen table to cook up what has become a much-loved part of South Florida’s theater landscape, Summer Shorts (despite the occasional head-scratching oddity) has repeatedly validated its founders’ belief in the power of short-form theater. The company has given life to countless short plays, helped launch the career of hot young playwright-TV writer Marco Ramirez and forged a significant partnership with Actors’ Theatre of Louisville and its annual Ten-Minute Play contest.

The appreciation for Summer Shorts runs deep, and it doesn’t come just from theatergoers: Many of the best talents in South Florida’s acting community vie to make the festival their version of summer camp “. . . on speed,” as actor Erin Joy Schmidt puts it.

“Summer Shorts,” adds acting company member Chaz Mena, “is a seasonal siren.”

Bowing this weekend in the Carnival Studio Theater at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (then moving to Broward for a three-day run at the start of July), the festival includes everything from absurdist comedy and shattering drama to the adults-only undershorts. The kids’ part of the festival, which doesn’t begin until June 17, is a special 15th anniversary treat: the full-length, world-premiere musical Camp Kappawanna, with music and lyrics by singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb and a script by the award-winning Ramirez.

First, though, come the eight plays in this year’s Signature Shorts, seven in undershorts.

Norman and Westfall, now the company’s literary director, combed through some 1,200 scripts to choose this year’s crop. In the mix are a sensual piece about a young, damaged veteran reconnecting with his determined wife; a farcical take on every woman’s nightmare, the gynecological exam; separate solo pieces voiced by a man and a woman dealing with the aftermath of tragedy, and a riotous play about a dysfunctional family whose patriarch insists he wrote The Night Before Christmas, Clement Moore be damned.

On the Signature bill are Jay Rehak’s The End of a Perfect Game, a 15th anniversary revival of Rich Orloff’s Matterhorn, founder Westfall’s play Look at Me, Gregory Hischak’s Poor Shem, Dan Dietz’s Lobster Boy, John Olive’s Iddle Minglish, Bridget Carpenter’s Euxious and Christopher Durang’s Not a Creature Was Stirring.

The naughty bits in undershorts include Bekah Brunstetter’s Daddy Took My Debt Away, Susan Cinoman’s Beds, Laura Eason’s It Was Fun While It Lasted, and Rolin Jones’ Extremely.

Putting on those 15 plays (and the kids’ musical) is costly — Norman estimates the tab at $400,000 to $500,000 this year — but money is just part of the equation in getting a festival on. This year’s event isn’t as complex as the 2008 edition, which featured a mind-boggling 30 plays, but it’s challenging enough. Scheduling rehearsals for a repertory company of eight actors and seven directors, for example, requires a grid that looks like theater’s equivalent of rocket science.

This year’s acting company includes newcomers Scott Genn and Breeza Zeller, along with Shorts vets Mena, Schmidt, Elena Maria Garcia, David Hemphill, Laura Turnbull and fest-fan favorite Stephen Trovillion, aka “Mr. Summer Shorts.” James Samuel Randolph, who has acted and directed in seven previous festivals, observes, “These are some of the strongest character actors you’ll see in our area.”

Directors Gail Garrisan and John Manzelli are each staging shows and making sure the festival comes together artistically. Actor-director Avi Hoffman, Marjorie O’Neill-Butler, Barry Steinman, Hugh Murphy and Randolph are also staging the plays. The fest’s award-winning design team includes Sean McClelland (set), Steve Shapiro (sound), Estela Vrancovich (costumes), Sevim Abaza (lighting) and Jodi Dellaventura (props).

The festival, says Murphy, is “a lot like Iron Chef. You have top-of-the-line ingredients, great scripts, tremendous actors, unbelievable assistance and incredible time constraints. When you’re finished, you walk out and hope that what you have is a souffle of deliciousness.”

Garrisan, one of the festival’s former artistic directors, pinpoints the pleasures of being involved.

“Working with these actors is so much fun. They’re so skilled, so on it. It’s a director’s dream,” she says.

Turnbull, returning for her third Summer Shorts, says that she enjoyed the same aspects of the festival as audience member that she now loves as an actor.

“You always knew something different was about to happen, from the crazy to the extremely poignant,” she says. “Whether you hated something or loved it, you’d move on to something else. It’s great to play so many things in one night, to see combinations of people, to feel the chemistry between the actors. It’s real summer-vacation theater.”

Court records show David Carradine’s widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a film company handling the actor’s last film.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Thursday is against MS2 S.A., a French company responsible for the production of the movie “Stretch.”

The lawsuit claims the company promised to provide Carradine the best possible amenities and an assistant to help him navigate the city, but left him behind for dinner on the night before the actor was found dead.

Carradine was found hanging dead last June in a Bangkok hotel room.

Attempts to reach an MS2 S.A. representative by phone was not immediately successful.

With some wines my descriptors are right on the nose, partly because a particular varietal will impart certain aromas and flavors indicative of the region from where it was grown. A good example is a New Zealand sauvignon blanc: herbal, citrus and gooseberry are all characteristic.

There are a number of ways to sharpen the ‘ole sniffer, but if you don’t want to spend big bucks on a wine aroma kit or even a seminar, then take a look at this Wine Spectator article on creating your own wine aroma study kit.

You’ll spend a little money on a couple of bottles of wine and you’ll most likely have the rest of the ingredients in your cupboard or ‘fridge already.

I like the sound of that. And the smell.

Wine Spectator’s “How to Make Your Own Wine Aroma Study Kit”

Following the success of “Tap Tap Metallica,” Warner Music Group Corp. is opening up its roster of artists to be featured on other versions of the popular play-along iPhone game.

Artists such as B.O.B., Neil Young and Paramore will be featured in songs that come in two-, four- and six-pack bundles from 99 cents to $1.99. The main version of the game, “Tap Tap Revenge 3,” is free.

Four artists, who have yet to be announced, will be featured in premium versions that delve into their catalog of music and sell for $4.99 each over the next year.

For developer Tapulous Inc., which is based in Palo Alto, the deal with Warner rounds out agreements with all the major recording companies. It concluded deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Group Ltd. over the last year and a half.

“This is the icing on the cake,” said Tim O’Brien, Tapulous’ vice president of business development.

Warner gets more exposure for its artists as well as getting a cut of game sales.

“Tap Tap Metallica” has sold 150,000 units since being released in October, and remains among the top 10 music games on the iTunes store.

Mark Pinkus, senior vice president of worldwide licensing for Warner’s catalog division, Rhino Entertainment, said an active listener makes for a more popular artist, and can spur further song sales.

“You can’t just sit back and listen to the song, you have to be playing, otherwise you fail and the game shuts down,” he said. “It’s a very hands-on experience. It makes the music and artist more popular and it benefits us from a sales point of view.”

James Cameron says BP turned down his offer to help solve the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.

The “Titanic” director and deep-sea expert suggested the oil giant needed to tap outside expertise to combat the leak, according to Reuters. “Over the last few weeks I’ve watched, as we all have, with growing horror and heartache, watching what’s happening in the Gulf and thinking those morons don’t know what they’re doing,” Cameron said.

Photos: Hollywood Gets Political

Cameron, who has worked with robot submarines in deep-sea environments, met with EPA officials in Washington earlier this week to brainstorm alternative solutions to close to the oil spill. He did not specify whom he called “morons” — and stressed that BP had “graciously” turned down his offer of help.

Cameron says the U.S. government needs to take a more active role in the crisis. “The government really needs to have its own independent ability to go down there and … do its own investigation,” he said. “Because if you’re not monitoring it independently, you’re asking the perpetrator to give you the video of the crime scene.”

Photos: Stars Who Stand Up for the Earth

“As a kid, I was very shy, but comedy brought me out of myself. I didn’t get Will & Grace until I was 40. Once that show caught on, it was really freeing. I learned that if you trust your instincts, you’ll be okay.” These days, Mullally can be seen in the Starz series Party Down, about a wacky catering crew. “I take my work very seriously, but I like to have a good time. It’s a privilege to help people enjoy themselves.”

Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally: The Love Story of Two TV Stars

• Balance is Everything
“I know it sounds corny, but one of the things I’ve been trying to get better at is staying in the moment,” Mullally says. “It’s easy to go down a road of worrying and stressing out. I try not to do that. I do deep breathing for at least 10 minutes a day. I try to let things unfold and just keep an eye peeled for opportunities. If you try to make things happen or force things, it doesn’t work.” She laughs. “I’ve only been working on that for around 20 years.”

• I’m Proud of My Age
At 51, Mullally doesn’t hide her age—she practically blurts it out. She’s in great shape and she credits that to her high school days as a ballet dancer. She admits that she has to work harder at staying fit now, but the discipline she learned as a dancer has remained with her. “I love to walk in a nice area where I can listen to audio books on my iPod.” Mullally has also gotten hooked on Pilates, an exercise routine that strengthens core muscles. “I discovered it about three years ago. I tried yoga, and that didn’t click with me. When I started Pilates, I noticed changes right away. It made me feel like a million bucks.”
10 Age-Defying Hollywood Stars

• A (Mostly) Healthy Diet
Mullally is conscious of maintaining a healthy diet—within reason. “I try to eat all organic foods, but I’m not rigid about it. I’m going to visit my mother, and I don’t think organic food has hit Oklahoma City yet,” she says with a big laugh. “Let’s see, I never have caffeine. I drink water, herbal tea, and juice.” Mullally pauses with perfect comic timing and deadpans, “And maybe a glass of champagne!”

Katy Perry dripping with green slime. Jack Black, in his underpants, shooting fireworks from his crotch. Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter-ego, Bruno, landing his bare backside on Eminem’s face.

These sure aren’t Oscar moments.

MTV Networks — which include Nickelodeon, Spike, Comedy Central and VH1 — specialize in irreverent awards shows, and they’re serving up a double dose this weekend with Spike’s Guys Choice on Saturday and the MTV Movie Awards Sunday.

At these shows, fans pick the winners, so popular fare almost always trumps critical favorites. The categories, which change year to year, honor such achievements as Top Fantasy Leaguer and Holy Grail of Hot at Guys Choice, and the best kiss, fight and “scared-as-s–t moment” of the year at the movie awards.

The network’s award shows, which also include Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards and Spike’s Scream awards (where Johnny Depp presented Keith Richards with the Rock Immortal award last year), are unapologetically more about the party than the prizes.

“We try to keep it fresh,” says MTV Networks Chief Judy McGrath. “Let’s not get too serious about this and think about what our audience really, really loves.”

The shows consistently draw big ratings and big stars — George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Charlize Theron and Robert DeNiro are among those expected at Guys Choice, while Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, Adam Sandler and Cameron Diaz are set to join dozens more stars at the MTV Movie Awards.

It’s a fan-centered approach, McGrath says, and the combination of top talent, quirky categories and zany antics is a winning one for all involved.

“People appreciate the twist on the traditional awards show and they can have some fun. It doesn’t have that high-level-of-anxiety feel,” she says, recalling last year’s Guys Choice presentation of the Brass Balls award to Clint Eastwood. “Part of you can’t believe Clint is coming to get this.”

They come, says MTV general manager Stephen Friedman, because they know they’re speaking directly to their fans.

“That’s why we get the phenomenal caliber of talent that we get,” he says. “It’s piped straight into the people who adore them and live for them.”

Celebrities also appreciate that fans call the shots, McGrath says. Fans feel an ownership because they’re picking the winners, casting unlimited votes for their favorites.

The award shows are also “really good business for us,” she says. “They go up every year, in how much clients love them and clamor to be part of them and the revenue they create.”

And more are coming. The Halo Awards, where celebrities recognize young people for serving their communities, premiered on Nickelodeon last year. And VH1 will broadcast the Do Something Awards for the first time, hosted by Jane Lynch, on July 19.

Guys Choice, taping Saturday at Sony Studios and airing on Spike June 20, is set to include a tribute to Sylvester Stallone. Sandra Bullock is being honored at the MTV Movie Awards, to be broadcast live on MTV Sunday from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif. The show, hosted by Aziz Ansari, is also set to feature performances by Perry, Snoop Dogg and Christina Aguilera, and footage from the forthcoming “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

3OH!3's Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman have had two top-10 hits in their young career.

To their fans, 3OH!3’s collaboration with Ke$ha, My First Kiss, is new and exciting.

To the pop duo, however, My First Kiss is almost an oldie, a song they’d done a year and a half ago.

Either way, 3OH!3’s new single is another smash for the group, the second Top 10 single of their career following up the success of Don’t Trust Me from 2008.

“It’s kind of crazy,” said 3OH!3’s Nathaniel Motte. “It’s a song we’ve had for a while, so we’ve been hearing it for some time. Still, it’s a fun song.”

Motte and Sean Foreman will be singing My First Kiss (without Ke$ha), Don’t Trust Me and other songs as part of their show at Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Tuesday. Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy and I Fight Dragons join 3OH!3 for the show, called the “Too Fast For Love Tour”.

“We knew Cobra Starship from the Warped Tour,” Motte said. “We play very different stuff, they’re more of a rock act than we are. But all of us put on really fun live shows.”

3OH!3’s music has been described as “crunkcore”, combining hip-hop with emo music, but it comes off as more straight-forward pop than anything. And that’s how Motte sees what the group does as well.

In working on the group’s newest album, Streets of Gold, 3OH!3 finally had the kind of time they needed to hone their sound.

“We’d been touring so much, we didn’t have time to sit down and work on our craft,” Motte said. “We had four months to carve out what we wanted to do, and the new album is an extension of that. We want to make pop music that’s different, and brings something new to the table.”

If you go:
3OH!3, Cobra Starship, Travie McCoy and I Fight Dragons: 7 p.m., Tuesday, Pompano Beach Amphitheater. Information: Ticketmaster.com, LiveNation.com

“This is designed to take the idea of resume building to the next level for young talent,” says Halmos, who launches the new company next week at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton with the “tribal love-rock musical,” Hair.

Entre’Acte Theatrix will devote itself to producing musicals, but those that are edgy and relevant, rather than escapist. That is what led Halmos to choose 1968’s Hair, whose roots are in the counter-culture and protest movement of the Vietnam War.

As she explains, “Again we’re dealing with a generation that’s at war, a very different war, but war nevertheless. And some of the same scariness in the world.”

Hair will be directed and choreographed by KD Smith, a protégé of the late Michael Bennett. “Because I was taught by Michael, I could easily dissect this script like I was taught to in A Chorus Line,” she says. “I found all those underlying things, all that subtext that so helps the actors convey the story. If Michael Bennett had done Hair, I probably am giving them the staging he would have done with the show.”

But Smith understands that all people really want to know, when they hear she is directing Hair, is whether or not the production will include the first act finale nude scene.

Absolutely, Smith says, adding that it is surely the most misunderstood scene in the show. “Everybody thinks it’s just the dirty, pot-smoking hippies getting naked. They missed the point. It is all about this guy Claude who can’t make a decision whether he wants to stay with the Tribe and hang out in the park all day and get stoned or whether he should move on and do something with his life,” she explains. And if that includes the army, so be it.

“At that point in the show, all the guys have just burnt their draft cards, they’re pumped up, they’re hyped, and all of a sudden they go, ‘If we’re going to be free, let’s be free.’ ”

The nude scene has traditionally been voluntary for the cast members. Currently, the number of performers willing to doff their clothes is on the increase, reports Smith. “Well, we have a little more daily, as the light bulb goes on over their heads of what the show is about.”

Like the current revival of Hair on Broadway, the audience is invited onstage at the end of the show for a dance party. But, cautions Halmos, “The audience has to keep their clothes on.”

Following a week’s run at the Caldwell, the production moves north for a week at Palm Beach Gardens High School.

Dramaworks teams with Dreyfoos … Want to see more young talent in action? Palm Beach Dramaworks inaugurates its Emerging Artist Showcase, an evening of monologues, scenes and songs by the graduating seniors of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. It plays at 7 p.m. June 15 and at 2 and 7 p.m. June 16 . Tickets are $15, available by calling (561) 514-4042.

Take heed of a summer play festival … The intermittently active Take Heed Theater Company is teaming up with Palm Beach State College for its second annual Summer Play Festival, a pair of full productions and a staged reading, beginning June 15, and continuing through Aug. 11.

First up is Frank McGuinness’ Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (June 15-17), about a trio of hostages struggling to survive in a Middle Eastern Prison cell. It is followed by William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (July 13-15), the knockabout comic battle of the sexes between the wily Kate and chauvinistic Petruchio. The festival concludes on Aug. 11 with a reading of Marsha Norman’s ’night, Mother, a test of wills between a mother and the unhappy daughter who announces her intention to kill herself.

The venue is Stage West Theatre on the Lake Worth campus. Tickets range from $12 to $17. Call (561) 868-3309 for reservations.

Jonah Hill and Russell Brand star in the comedy 'Get Him To The Greek', a sort-of sequel to 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'. (Universal Pictures)

With last week’s two debuts having what seems to be solid staying power, it might be a crowded marketplace for this week’s four new entrants into the summer movie race.

According to Flixster’s data, both Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Sex and the City 2 have strong holdover value, as does Shrek Forever After.

That could mean a tough weekend for Killers, Get Him To The Greek, Splice and Marmaduke to gain traction.

Of the four, Splice – a genetic horror thriller starring Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley — seems to have the best shot at having a breakout week. Males have a solid interest in the film, though not nearly as high as May releases, like Prince of Persia and Iron Man 2.

Greek, a raunchy comedy sort-of sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall and starring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand, sees its biggest interest lie with males under 25. Meanwhile, Killers, a comic thriller with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher, has its biggest interest level from females under 25.

Finally, there’s Marmaduke, featuring Lee Pace and the voice of Owen Wilson. Flixster sees little solid support from any demographic group so far, but notes that movies geared toward very young audiences are difficult to measure.

As far as critical reception is going, Greek has gained the highest “tomatometer” score at Rotten Tomatoes — 73 percent. Splice is right behind at 65, and both movies scored better than Shrek, Prince or Sex 2.

Meanwhile, Marmaduke is at a lowly 15 percent, while Killers wasn’t screened for critics.

Add Mother Earth Coffee (a block north of Lucerne on Second Avenue North), Bizaare Avenue Cafe (a block west of the downtown area on Lake Avenue) and the city’s Evening On the Avenues concerts (held on the first and third Fridays of each month on the Cultural Plaza Stage, between Lake and Lucerne on North M Street), and you have 10 established live music sites in 18 square blocks. No other downtown area in Palm Beach County approaches that average.

All of which should be music to everyone’s ears, yet isn’t. Noise complaints about open-air establishments like South Shores, The Cottage and Havana Hideout have caused city commissioners to appoint a task force to reach a compromise between downtown residents and business owners. A public meeting on the matter was held recently.

“An ordinance with a structure will eventually come out of this,” says Chrissy Benoit, owner of Havana Hideout and a member of the task force. “But the proposal is for 65 decibels at the curb, and we’ve measured 72 here on a Taco Tuesday! Harleys are louder than that. Neighborhood barbecues are, too. People still need to e-mail their city commissioners at lakeworth.org about this.”

“With an outdoor club so close to residential areas, you have to be really smart with your audio,” says Bamboo Room owner Russell Hibbard, who says his indoor venue will reopen in early 2011 if the job market can support it.

“It’s a good thing the bad music police aren’t down there,” says Rick Rossano, guitarist/vocalist for The Dillengers, the rootsy absurdists who play two Fridays a month indoors at Igot’s. “They’d have their hands full.”

See Ladies & Gentleman at 6 p.m. Friday at Evening On the Avenues on the Cultural Plaza Stage on North M Street, (561) 582-4401; open mic night with Stevie D at 8 p.m. Friday at Mother Earth Coffee, 410 Second Ave. N., (561) 460-8647; Blues Dragon at 8 p.m. Friday at South Shores, 502 Lucerne Ave., (561) 547-7656; and Black Weather Shaman and Black Finger at 8 p.m. Friday at Propaganda, 6 S. J St., (561) 547-7273; Taylor Road at 9 p.m. Friday at The Cottage, 522 Lucerne Ave., (561) 586-0080; and The Dillengers at 9:30 tonight at Igot’s, 702 Lake Ave., (561) 582-4468.

Round town:
Area vocalist/keyboardist Matt Farr (mattfarr.com) has a new self-titled solo CD, and plays with his band Vanilla Monk at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Square Grouper, 1111 Love St., Jupiter, (561) 743-3270.

Russell Brand pushes the envelope on the big screen in Get him to the Greek, but he’s also looking to stir things up in real life at his own wedding.

Photos: Star Couples Who Make Sweet Music Together

Brand is engaged to singer/songwriter Katy Perry, and when asked what their upcoming nuptials might look like, he replied in true Russell Brand form.

Photos: Hottest Actor-Musician Hookups

“It’s going to be indulgent, right? Everyone’s going to be topless, the bride, the groom, that’s me, our parents, all topless. It will be a festival of decadence,” Brand told Parade.com. “The first thing we’re going to do is slaughter a swan. That’s to the god Zeus. Our wedding is essentially going to be a recreation of the greatest moments in mythological history.”

The corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich began Thursday, 18 months after authorities arrested him at home at dawn one day and accused him of trying to sell the Senate seat that President Barack Obama had vacated for the White House.

A smiling and relaxed-looking Blagojevich had arrived at federal court with his wife, Patti, and stepped into a gantlet of about 30 waiting cameras and reporters. He hugged supporters and thanked them on his way into the courthouse. That included a group of women with signs, including May Farley, 78, of Elmhurst, who held a placard saying, “Rod’s not cuckoo. Rod’s not guilty.”

“I feel great,” said Blagojevich, who denies any wrongdoing. “The truth shall set you free,” he told one well-wisher as he shook the man’s hand. Since being ousted from office, Blagojevich has pleaded his case to the public from radio to reality TV.

Patti Blagojevich thanked supporters for helping them through a tough time.

“But today is a good day because today is the day that begins the process to correct a terrible injustice that has been done to my husband, our family and to the people of Illinois,” she said. “My husband is an honest man. And I know that he is innocent.”

Blagojevich displayed a hint of anxiety, though, several times dropping his wallet after walking through a metal detector. He held hands with his wife as they entered the courtroom where his trial is expected to last at least 3 months.

Prosecutors have 500 hours of secretly recorded FBI wiretaps of Blagojevich and his associates. They see a chance to send a second straight Illinois governor to prison in one of the biggest political trials ever in this corruption-plagued state.

Blagojevich’s attorneys have said that the recordings, if played in their entirety, would show he did not try to sell the Senate seat. The 53-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 24 counts including racketeering, wire fraud, attempted extortion and bribery. He and his co-defendant brother — 54-year-old Nashville, Tenn., businessman Robert Blagojevich — deny scheming to sell or trade the seat for personal gain.

The former governor also is charged with plotting to turn his administration into a giant moneymaking operation with profits to be divided between himself and a circle of advisers and fundraisers after he left office. If convicted, Blagojevich faces a maximum of 415 years in prison and fines totaling $6 million.

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel began questioning potential jurors for the case. Among the first questions he asked was whether they had read much about the case and whether they could set aside any preconceived notions about Blagojevich.

One potential juror said she had seen Patti Blagojevich, on a reality TV show eating a bug. Patti Blagojevich had been a contestant on the NBC reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!”

Jurors were referred to in the courtroom by numbers only. Zagel plans to keep the jury anonymous until after the trial. Zagel had denied a request from five news organizations, including The Associated Press, to reverse that.

Prosecutors have lined up numerous key witnesses. Those include Blagojevich’s former chiefs of staff John Harris and Alonzo “Lon” Monk.

Monk, Blagojevich’s law school roommate who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to solicit a bribe in the form of campaign contributions from a racetrack owner, was with the governor at the outset of his administration and is guaranteed to be asked about alleged efforts to use the office to generate profit. Harris, who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell the Senate seat, will surely be asked for full details.

On Wednesday, attorneys close to the case said Blagojevich’s defense has subpoenaed White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel as a witness. The attorneys spoke on condition of anonymity because the subpoena had not been made public.

If Emanuel did take the stand, he might be asked about what effort, if any, the White House made to get Blagojevich to appoint Obama’s friend Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat. Jarrett had been mentioned as a candidate but withdrew to become a presidential adviser. She also has been subpoenaed by the defense, a White House official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Neither Jarrett nor Emanuel is accused of any wrongdoing.

Sorosky said he’s not sure if Emanuel and Jarrett will testify, since he doesn’t know who the government will call. But he said he thinks it’s “very likely” that Patti Blagojevich will testify.

Blagojevich’s attorneys have said he did not plan to sell the seat. They say he planned to award it to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in exchange for a deal with her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, to get tax, health care and jobs legislation through the House. Prosecutors are expected to call that deal largely fiction. Neither Madigan has been accused of any wrongdoing.

The case is the latest chapter in a state where politics have long been awash in patronage and payoffs. Blagojevich’s predecessor, Republican George Ryan, is serving a 6½-year racketeering and fraud sentence.

___

Associated Press Writer Erica Werner in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.