So, if you watched last night’s telecast of the 50th Grammy Awards, you probably have some questions. Questions like, who is that guy, and why did he steal Amy Winehouse’s Grammy for Best Album of the Year? Or how is it that the Beatles won only four Grammys when they were together, while Fergie already has three? Or did Amy really thank her husband as “my Blake incarcerated” in her acceptance speech? Yes, yes she did. So without further ado, here are some of your most burning (though hopefully not itching) Grammy questions revealed.

Q: How it is it that the most electrifying performer in the room wasn’t even in the room?

A: Visa problems kept The Winehouse 5,500 miles away in London, but she still electrified via satellite with a performance that was equal parts raw, campy, sassy and defiant. Plus, she brought the one thing the somewhat stodgy awards affair sorely lacked — the air of unpredictability. God bless you, Amy Winehouse. Now get back to rehab and get better. … continue reading

Lately I've been watching billiards every time I happen to catch a broadcast on ESPN. Over the holidays, I watched Allison Fisher win the Women's Professional Billiards Association Championship, and shortly after that I watched Karen Corr win the WPBA Midwest Classic. (Fisher is English and Corr is Irish — they were both raised on snooker, I'm guessing?)

And this past weekend, I caught some of the World Cup of Trick Shots, featuring Jeanette Lee and Ewa Laurance. Ewa is fascinating — not only is she stunning and skilled, but when she serves as an announcer for the tournaments, she's smart and funny. No wonder they call her the Striking Viking.

Here's Jeanette Lee in action — they call her the Black Widow: … continue reading

As roc reminded us earlier this week, our favorite shows are running out of new episodes. That includes Grey's Anatomy, which is my personal choice for 2007's Best Comeback From a Lukewarm Season.

To make us feel better, ABC has released some midseason (which could be end-of-season) promotional stills of the cast. And not sharing the best ones with you would just be wrong. So here's a little eye candy for your weekend viewing pleasure.

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I have a really long to-do list in a notebook somewhere. I call it my things-to-do-before-I-croak list. It includes stuff like places I want to see, books I want to read and things I'd like to accomplish. Thanks to AfterEllen.com, I can sort of cross off one of those items. No. 67: Get published. Sure, the Internet wasn't what I had in mind when I added that particular item to my list, but it counts in my world.

Another thing on my to-do list is attend the Sundance Film Festival. If I could manage to squeeze in the time off and barter my way to Utah, I'd make 2008 the year to get that one crossed off the list. The complete list of films screening at next year's festival was released over the course of the past couple of weeks. Not only do some of the films sound intriguing, but the list of who's in those films should make the red carpet a true treat. In last week's Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. we told you about one reason to head for the Utah mountains, a reason named Saffron Burrows. Here are a few more reasons to make the trek.

One of the people I would expect to see strutting about town is Lena Headey. Not only would I love to drool over her in person, but I'd also like to see the movie she's in that's screening at Park City at Midnight. It's called The Broken and tells the tale of a woman who sees herself drive by in her own car while on a busy London street. She follows the mystery double into "a living nightmare." Lena Headey in what sounds like an eerie psychological thriller? Count me in. … continue reading

We knew this year was going to be tough for the lovely Dr. Cristina Yang.

Her fiancé, Dr. Burke, skipped town at the end of last season's Grey's Anatomy, and we learned this season that he's gone for good. Recently, a new complication in Cristina's career has appeared in the form of Dr. Burke's replacement, Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Not that we object. … continue reading

Although AfterEllen.com was the first to notice that network TV has more Asian-American actors in recurring roles than ever before, the rest of the blogosphere may be catching up. Last week, cinematical posted a list of seven Asian-American actors who made an impression this year, on film as well as on television.

Those who made the list are not necessarily new to the business, but had standout performances and, in cinematical's opinion, are on the verge of stardom. In the spirit of gender equality (cough), let's look at the men first: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Ken Leung and Daniel Wu. Any questions? Good. I suppose we should just be glad that three of the seven are women.

Of course, three women are always more interesting than four men. And equally interesting, though unsurprising, is that none of these three women are new to those of us who naturally notice talented, beautiful women. … continue reading

Yay! Project Runway is back. Season 4 premieres tomorrow night. I must remind myself to breathe. Oh, how I love fashion and style! And Heidi Klum. And Tim Gunn.

But what really captures me is the thrill of watching creativity from its infancy to its final product. That's the essence of Bravo's most-watched show. Never mind that often the challenges tossed at the contestants cause creative brain freeze, and never mind that you wouldn't want even your worst enemy caught dead in some of the creations that actually win a particular challenge. It's the process that makes the show work, not just the final articles of clothing.

Of course, I can't make a Halloween ghost outfit out of a white cotton sheet, so the creative energy on this show is awe-inspiring for me. Style, fashion and diva attitudes are a luminous mix of entertainment! OK, fine: I also enjoy watching the models glide down the runway each week, but I swear that is merely a secondary reward. I swear. (By the way, one of the models, Marie, identifies as lesbian on her MySpace page.)

The 15 new contestants (8 men and 7 women) have been announced, and each sent three items down the runway with typical mixed results during a brief show in New York a few days ago. But I say the quality of design looks great. Take a look for yourself: … continue reading

Believe it or not, 2007 is quickly winding down. The new year will be upon us before you know it. As a result, I am currently trying to decide which new calendar will adorn my sparsely decorated cubicle in the coming year. Really, the idea of shopping around for a new calendar is the fault of Sporty, Posh and the rest of the Spice Girls. They will not be adorning my walls, but news of their new 2008 calendar is what prompted my train of thought.

Sure, they're not horrible to look at or anything, but the two-month reunion tour will be more than enough Spice Girls for me. A full 12 months would just be overkill in my world. Paris Hilton has a 2008 calendar too, but any time spent with her would be too much for me.

Instead, I'm thinking something more along the lines of Battlestar Galactica or The L Word. The only problem is, while my cubicle is sparsely decorated, I have room for only one 2008 calendar. And frankly, the options are almost endless. So, instead of shelling out my hard-earned cash for something published by someone else, I decided to create my own calendar for 2008. And what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't share my latest brainstorm with all of you? (A non-working one, that's what kind.) So, for your perusal and enjoyment, here is Siege's 2008 wall calendar.

January — Melissa Etheridge

Her voice alone would keep me warm on a cold January night in the Midwest, and frankly, it has. Oh, to be the lucky farm girl who gets to curl up next to this every night. … continue reading

Alyssa Milano blogs about baseball.

Margaret Cho vlogs her Sensuous Woman tour and photo blogs getting tattoos.

Pamela Anderson uses her blog to assure us that she's a good mom.

Those are just three of the big-name bloggers on Celebrity Cowboy's list, "66 Celebrities that Blog." Why would people who hire publicists to manage their messages take up blogging? Well, let's see. … continue reading

The new doc at Seattle Grace has already turned McDreamy's head.

We met Lexie at the end of Grey's Anatomy last season, although we didn't know much more than the fact that she and Derek flirted at the bar. Then, in a callback to Grey's first episode, she showed up as one of the new interns. This season, we learned that she's Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister. And the actress who plays her, Chyler Leigh, is quite the hottie. … continue reading

I really hope you weren't planning to do anything but watch TV tonight. I'm cursing my Xanadu tickets. Nah, not really, but there's a lot to take in on the tube tonight!

Let's get the obvious one out of the way: Kate Walsh has her own Private Practice starting tonight at 9/8c on ABC. I'm giving it one episode to impress me, and if it doesn't, I'm done, despite my abiding love for Audra McDonald.

Next, it's finally here: Bionic Woman premieres tonight at 9/8c on NBC. … continue reading

Either the French Legion knows that Michelle Yeoh can kick their collective ass back to the Napoleonic era, or they are smarter than American audiences, who have yet to give Yeoh her due. I'm guessing it's a bit of both — but there's no doubt that Yeoh's formidable skills have earned her the Legion of Honor medal (Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur), to be given at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 3.

The French civil award is akin to the British honor of knighthood, minus those pesky monarchy complications: Since its establishment by Napoleon himself (no complications there, right? oh, wait a minute ...), membership in the Legion has been based solely upon merit without regard to birth. Yeoh received a similar award in 2001, when the Sultan of her home state in Malaysia granted her the honorary title of Dato.

The "Queen of Martial Arts" — who started off as a dancer and beauty queen — tends to be modest about her accomplishments (once referring to "her own little style"), but there's nothing modest about her ability to hold her own with just about anyone, from Bond to Jackie Chan. She also happens to be an easy addition to the "making 40 fabulous" list. … continue reading

You know how the conversations get started. You're cavorting with your friends when someone decides to take things in a direction that's a bit less lighthearted and a bit more thought-provoking. A game of 20 questions goes from silly to sincere in the blink of an eye. When the tone shifts, I like to bring up the subject of women I'd like to meet. I think it's enlightening to know who my friends would like to sit down with for coffee and a bit of chit-chat if they could choose any woman, living or dead, for their own little game of 20 questions.

My problem with such questions is that I would have a tough time narrowing it down to just one. I love women who break barriers or defy odds. I adore women who tell it like it is without apology. My standard choice has generally been Maya Angelou.

Much as I like that choice, I decided the other day that I needed to expand my horizons, branch out to new territory, find another bright, witty woman I don't know with whom to have a little sit-down. After scouring the net for likely candidates — in a completely non-stalkerish way — I learned something important. I don't know enough women. What I mean is, there are amazing women out there, in all kinds of places, and I had never heard of them before. And that's just wrong. So I wanted to let you in on some of the amazing women I discovered.

First, you should know what got me started down this road in the first place. There's a little slide-show article over at msn.com called "10 amazing women you've never heard of" (thanks Mo!). It's an outstanding list of smart, beautiful women including Nobel prize winners, doctors, teachers, and the first plus-sized super-model, Emme Aronson. It includes women like Safiye Amjan, an Afghan woman who defied the Taliban to continue educating girls in her homeland. It includes women like Waris Dirie, a Somalian woman who has led the crusade to end female genital mutilation after suffering the atrocity of it herself. It includes women like Kelly Perkins, a heart transplant recipient who climbs mountains both literal and figurative. It's a list you should definitely check out.

It's also a list that leaves a lot of room for additions. Here are five women who would be on my list. I'd love to engage any of them in a little coffee talk. … continue reading