Hollywood Blog

Hollywood Stars Go Nude For Yoga

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FPVDYogaPhotoFlow400Yoga has long become a trend in celebrity circles for getting and staying fit. If rumors are to be believed, though, the in thing these days is going butt naked to do yoga! Rumors being what they are, nothing has really been confirmed, but if they are to be believed, Hollywood celebrities such as Nicolas Cage, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Lopez, and Rita Wilson are doing naked yoga.

So what is so special about naked yoga? The World Sentinel reports:

The proponents of naked yoga say that it is taboo-breaking, thrill, liberation, unique perspective, profound spiritual and healing experience; unifies body-soul-mind; sheds barriers/inhibitions/masks; provides greater freedom of movement; saves the hassle of buying expensive yoga outfits; offers acceptance of body with all imperfections; makes one feel comfortable in one´s own skin; overcomes weight/body image issue; etc. But they insist that it is not about sex.

They just had to include that disclaimer about sex, didn’t they? Anyhow, yoga practitioners say that many people actually practice yoga naked in the comforts of their own homes. After all, yoga practitioners are actually encouraged to do the exercises on their own. And who (or what) is to stop private individuals to do yoga without any clothes? Joining a whole class wherein everyone – instructor and students alike – is something else altogether!

Despite my inhibitions (and other people’s as well, perhaps), naked yoga is actually catching on. If you think about it, the Hollywood stars are not pioneers in this field. There are many naked yoga clubs around the world. Check your local listing, there might be one near you.

Photo courtesy of www.yogalifestyle.com

HollywoodLand to Hollywood

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Original Hollywood Sign Bult in 1923Hollywood is synonymous to the entertainment industry and the stars that have shaped the glamorous it made it into the tinseltown everyone loves. To represent the glamour of Hollywood is the world famous sign HOLLYWOOD that can be spied from quite a distance not just across the city but continents away thanks to the numerous films the sign appears in! However, did you know that the original HOLLYWOOD sign actually read HOLLYWOODLAND?

The first HOLLYWOODLAND “billboard” was put up by Los Angeles Times Publisher Harry Chandler in 1923 to advertise his upscale real estate development. The huge billboard was lit up at night and blinked one syllable/word after the next ending with a huge dot/period. The sign was supposed to last only for about 6 months but was such a huge hit and came to embody the spirit of the whole city that it was maintained with great care until the depression hit and the real estate company went under in 1944.

In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took pity on the neglected sign and got it to look more like the sign we now know by shortening the word to denote just eh city and not the real estate company as well as doing necessary repairs to give the sign a badly needed face lift. During the 1970s the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided that it was time to say goodbye to the decades old sign and build a new one. They had a hard time raising the amount needed to build the new sign ($.025 million!) until Hugh Hefner (yes Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner) came to the rescue by holding an gala to auction of each letter and the new sign was torn down and rebuilt by 1978.

Nowadays the sign, with all the prestige and history attached to it, lacks no sponsors when it needs a little facelift. In 1995 it got a new coat of paint thanks to Dutch Boy Paints. In 2000 it went hi-tech and was installed with a security system. In 2005 the security system was upgraded. And in 2005, a year after its 80th birthday it got another fresh coat of paint. Whatever happens, it seems that we’ll be seeing that HOLLYWOOD sign for a long long time. And that it a good thing….

Where to get tickets to Hollywood tapings

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Why stop at visiting a Hollywood set when you can be part of the actual show? You can get tickets to the TV tapings at these places. But, wear comfortable shoes and clear the rest of your itinerary, you’ll have to wait in line.

Audiences Unlimited: (818) 506-0043 or www.tvtickets.com Write to: 100 Universal City Plaza Bldg. 153, Universal City, CA 91608 Include a return stamped envelope. Over 40 sitcoms, game and talk show tickets available.

CBS (213) 852-2458 7800 Beverly Blvd. Tickets for game and talk shows, and sitcom tapings

Paramount Pictures (323) 956-5575 860 N. Gower St. Tickets available at Visitors Center up to five days in advance of tapings of Paramount’s sitcoms and talk shows at the studio and other production facilities.

The birth of the Hollywood sign

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Hollywood sign

Before the studios and the stars, Hollywood was pastureland — dotted by citrus groves, barns, and large herds of cows (and the occassional camel). That all changed in the 1920’s. The film industry had boomed, and the large barns were easily converted into studios. Real estate companies tried to take advantage of the sudden growth, and one erected a very large (and at that time considered very tacky) ad: the word “Hollywood” displayed on the hills.

The movie industry survived the Great Depression and two world wars, but the sign barely did. In 1976 some very bored truants manipulated it to read “Hollyweed”. Two years later, another group edited it to “Holywood” (because of a visit by Pope John Paul). In the 80s, during the Iran contra scandal, it was once again vandalized into “Ollywood”.

The sign was falling apart, sparking a community-wide “Save the Sign” campaign. About $250,000 was raised — and now, it stands proud.