The NY Times’ Caryn James has a thought-provoking article that’s rather relevant to the realm of celebrity gossip blogs. She looks back on the year of celebrity gawking, and says that negative publicity affects the stars’ careers, but that the verdict is out as to how much.

2006 brought celebrity watching to new depths of detail. We saw Britney’s c-section scar, learned about Angelina Jolie’s method of birth control, and speculated about Tom Cruise’s sexuality while fawning over pictures of his supposed baby. We vascillate between mocking celebrities for the human foibles and admiring them for being skinnier than us with better accessories.

While old Hollywood presented screen stars as brands and shielded them from bad press, modern Hollywood throws them to the wolves and paparazzi. It’s not as damning as it once was to get a DUI, to go to rehab, or to be perceived as a husband-stealer, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect public perception. We say our most admired stars are the ones with home lives that are beyond reproach:

This emphasis on off-screen fame almost brings celebrity full circle, back to the era when actors were brands; their larger-than-life personalities were as flimsy as cardboard and constructed for the public, but so huge that “Cary Grant” was bigger than any Cary Grant movie. The crucial difference, of course, is that the fierce control studios maintained over actors’ images — covering up arrests, arranging bogus dates — has given way to a media culture in which virtually nothing remains hidden, from Mr. Gibson’s arrest report to Britney Spears’s no-underpants crotch. As an old-fashioned emphasis on personality collides with today’s ever-changing onslaught of truth, gossip and damage control, the result is a moviegoing public that paradoxically idolizes and mocks its stars.

What this cult of personality means for movies is still in flux, as stars, publicists and filmgoers adjust to a new tug-of-war over image-making, but the conflict certainly intensified this year.

Stars searched for ways to fight back, not very effectively. Some were mischievous: George Clooney suggested thwarting the celebrity-sightings section of the Gawker Web site by flooding it with fake reports. (There are already so many ludicrous reports, who could tell the difference?)

Others took the battle (nearly) to court. Reese Witherspoon sued Star magazine for falsely stating she was pregnant and in return got its version of a retraction: another photo of her in a bikini and the explanation “She’s not pregnant — it’s bloat!” At least we know she’s not pregnant. (She has reportedly settled the suit.)

And Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s Vanity Fair photo spread introducing their baby daughter, Suri (shot by the also-famous Annie Leibovitz), followed by their hugely hyped, celebrity-jammed wedding in Italy — what was that about if not image shaping? They allowed only their own photographers at the wedding, which made the hype more orchestrated, not less real. Their control added a veneer of desiring privacy, a sham the public didn’t buy…

There was more dismal news for image-shaping celebs recently, from the annual Gallup Poll measuring movie stars’ appeal. Asked which star’s films they would make a special effort to see, the respondents gave Tom Hanks the top spot, no surprise. He has always been an actor in the old-fashioned mold, sticking close to good-guy roles that mirror his clean-cut image.

Asked whose films they would avoid, those polled gave it to Mr. Cruise in a landslide, 34 percent. Coming in a distant second was Ms. Jolie at 18 percent. Being perceived as a wacko or as a home wrecker are obviously not the best P.R. choices.

It’s unclear how much the human failings of celebrities affect the box office. When people say that they’ll avoid Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie’s movies, all these details about their lives do seem to hurt their careers, but at least they’re staying in the public eye.

The posts about Angelina always have heated discussions, and some people dislike her so much that they use different nicknames to say the same thing over and over again as if several people have the same point about her. Rationally-minded commentors note that she’s considered the poster girl for husband-stealers and is an easy target for scorned women. While some may hate her, she attracts so much constant attention that the impact on the box office may be slight.

I hope that Britney’s career is going to suffer for all her partying and poon-baring, though. She’s a clear cut case of a celebrity who has made her bed and hasn’t changed the sheets in a long time.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died in an Atlanta hospital on Christmas morning at the age of 73. He died of heart failure brought on by pneumonia. Brown had diabetes and also suffered from prostate cancer which was in remission.

His death was unexpected and he was scheduled to play in BB King’s Blues Club in NY this New Years. Until he took a turn for the worse, his doctor told him he could make the performance. He was accompanied at the hospital by his close friend, Charles Bobbit.

Mr. Copsidas [Brown's rep] told The Associated Press that doctors do not know what caused the pneumonia, only that Mr. Brown’s illness was discovered by his dentist during a recent appointment in Atlanta. Mr. Brown had diabetes, and he also had prostate cancer that was in remission, Mr. Bobbit said.

Mr. Brown initially seemed to be fine when he was in the hospital and had even told people that he planned to be back on stage for the New Year’s Eve performance, Mr. Copsidas said.

Mr. Bobbit said Mr. Brown grew progressively worse as time passed.

“He had a cold and cough for some time, but he started coughing bad in the last few days,” Mr. Bobbit said.

He added, “The doctor we spoke to that was treating him said we could not do the first couple of shows but that there was a possibility if he got much better and could handle it we could be at B.B. King’s for the New Year’s Eve show,” Mr. Bobbit said.

Brown was from Augusta, Georgia and is known for his good works in his hometown. He gave out Turkeys every Thanksgiving and was just at his 15th annual Christmas present giveaway last Friday. The mayor expressed shock that he had passed away as he seemed fine during the charity event.

James Brown had 98 hits on the R&B top 40 singles chart, well more than any other artist. His career spans five decades and his unique hip-swaying funk style has influenced music of all genres. In the late 80s, hip hop artists started sampling James Brown and his work was seminal in early rap hits like Eric B and Rakim’s “I Know you Got Soul,” and Kid ‘n Play’s “Rolling with Kid ‘n Play.” James Brown was sampled extensively on the Public Enemy album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.”

Many funk stars including Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker got their start in Brown’s band.

Unfortunately Brown’s reputation as a humanitarian and the hardest working man in showbusiness is overshadowed by his personal problems. As a troubled orphan, he spent three years in a juvenile correctional home after he was caught stealing clothes out of cars at the young age of 15. He later served two years in prison out of a six year sentence when he was convicted of beating his wife with a pipe and shooting at her car in 1988. He took police on a two state car chase in September, 1988, and was charged with carrying an unlicensed weapon and assaulting an officer.

In death Brown is no less controversial. His lawyer and accountant are said to have instructed his security staff to padlock the gate on his Beech Island, South Carolina mansion, barring his widow, Tomi Rae Brown from entering. Tomi’s name is not on the deed to the home, and she says she has no money and nowhere else to go. She claims that Brown’s lawyer and accountant have “been robbing from him all of his life and they’ll do it in death.” Tomi Rae, a backup singer, is Brown’s fourth wife and is the mother of their five year-old son. Brown has three six children from his prior marriages.

While Brown is said to have passed at the age of 73, some people believe he is older. His real age is unknown as he was not born in a hospital and was raised by his aunt in a Georgia brothel after his mother died in childbrith.

Here’s a segment of Brown singing “A Man’s World”

A compilation of his performances:

And his most recognized song, “I Feel Good”

I was playing James Brown’s music while writing this post and my two year old song was dancing and smiling. RIP James Brown, your work will influence countless generations of musicians.

Pictures from the Augusta Chronicle.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt visited Costa Rica this Christmas to bring awareness to the plight of Columbian refugees there. Jolie has been an ambassador for the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees and wants the world to know of the millions of Columbians that have been forced from their homes in the twenty years of conflict in the Central American nation.

Jolie arrived in Costa Rica today and was to visit a group of refugee children and families and to meet Costa Rican officials, UNHCR said in a statement.

There are about 11,500 refugees in the Central American country, most of whom fled Colombia because of the conflict there between leftist guerrillas, soldiers and paramilitary forces.

“The conflict in Colombia is the greatest humanitarian tragedy in the Western Hemisphere, but it receives very little international attention,” the Oscar-winning actress said after she arrived in San Jose.

“My Christmas message to Colombian refugees and to the millions of displaced people in Colombia is that the world has not totally forgotten them.”

An estimated three million Colombians have been forced from their homes by more than two decades of armed conflict, and most are internally displaced, essentially refugees in their own country.

Another 500,000 have fled to other countries in the region. Together, the press statement said, they make up the largest single population of concern to UNHCR anywhere in the world.

Jolie and Pitt visited small business set up by Columbian refugees in Costa Rica thanks to micro loans from the UN. Micro loans, in amounts of just hundred of dollars, can help people in impoverished nations set up small businesses and escape a life of poverty.

This year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer in the field of micro loans in his nation of Bangladesh. You can learn more about how micro loans help through The Grameen Foundation.

People talk a lot of crap about how Brad and Angelina are doing charity for publicity, but Angelina seems to geniunely care about the plight of the people she visits. I’ve personally learned quite a bit from doing the research about her recent charity work. She seems to have reined in her agressive security staff, and her image has improved as a result.

Here are pictures of Brad and Angelina in Costa Rica, as well as some small shots of her shopping at LA boutique Kitson in LA on 12/21. Pictures from SimplyBrad, The Age, and China Daily. (Note that the China Daily article has some quotes from Angelina Jolie saying her family will be celebrating four Christmases or some shit. The source is Britain’s Grazia magazine, which routinely makes up quotes from celebrities. It doesn’t sound like Angelina to me at all.)

Kid Rock spent Christmas in Iraq and is performing for troops there. He says that it’s important that we remember our servicemen and women over the holidays no matter what our views on the war in Iraq:

The Michigan country-rap-rock star will perform for troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq through Dec. 29. The shows are sponsored by two U.S. Department of Defense programs, Armed Forces Entertainment and America Supports You.

Kid Rock, 35, a native of Romeo in Macomb County whose real name is Robert Ritchie, explained his decision to perform for the troops on his Web site:

“This year for Christmas I wanted to make sure somebody was thanking our troops for their service, no matter what our views are on the current situation in Iraq. I could be spending Christmas with my family, but in my heart I know this is the right thing to do — not only for our men and women in service, but also to set an unselfish example for my son and send a strong message to the world to be thankful and think of others at Christmas time.”

Kid Rock first visited troops in the Middle East in 2003, when he traveled to Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq as part of a U.S.O. tour.

Thanks to Kid Rock for reminding us about the troops this Christmas season. Other entertainers visiting the troops include World Wrestling Entertainment, which held a Tribute to the Toops show that aired on the USA Network on Christmas night.

There are several servicemen and women who read the blog and comment here. My cousin is serving in Iraq and has a wife and two toddler sons at home. It must be so hard to be away from your family at Christmastime and our thoughts and wishes go out to the troops serving overseas.

Pictures of servicepeople celebrating Christmas from DefendAmerica.mil and Columbus Federal Voice. Who wants to look at pictures of Kid Rock?

A 23 year-old model says she met Keith Urban at a Nashville bar in 2004 and was banging him up until the month before he married Nicole Kidman. She says they were so close she lived in his mansion briefly and that she met his family. Keith was constantly drunk and on various drugs including ecstasy and cocaine according to his supposed lover, who claims she’s talking to the press now to make it clear that she’s not a homewrecker.

The woman seems to be the reason Urban went into rehab this fall. She was spotted making out with him at a Nashville bar in October, and he checked into the Betty Ford clinic shortly afterwards. She won’t talk about that latest incident, but says that she was seeing Keith up until May, that he refused to talk about Nicole, and that he stopped returning her calls and got married to the famous movie star just a month afterwards:

Amanda Wyatt, a 23-year-old part-time model and self-professed “nobody”, last night revealed that Urban was unfaithful to his superstar wife throughout their courtship and engagement.

She says: “I feel sorry for Nicole. Keith cheated on her repeatedly with me, right up to just before they got married.

“He’s done it once and he will probably do it again.

“I know him as well as anyone and while he can be charming and loving, he is also someone who is constantly fighting his demons…

Amanda furnishes her story with intimate details only a lover could know.

She has Urban’s secret security code for his guard gate, she casually drops into conversation the name of his favourite cologne - Dolce & Gabbana - and says she cannot smell Shea Butter Body Wash without thinking of him.

Furthermore, Amanda, who is 16 years his junior and was just 21 when they met in 2004, admits she was surprised their relationship ever progressed further than a one-night stand - and says she never once pushed him for commitment.

She says: “I was a fan of Keith’s and longed to meet him.

“I was born and raised in Nashville and he was a star here long before the rest of the world heard about him through Nicole.

“I went to a bar called the Tin Roof one night and he was there.

“I was with a group of girlfriends and after a couple of drinks, on a dare, I went right up to him and said: ‘Hi Keith, I’m Amanda and I’m a big fan.’

“He just grinned. A couple of hours later I was so flattered when he came up and said: ‘You’re Amanda, right?’

“The next thing he said was: ‘Do you party?’…

“He had this big, beige-coloured hot tub and he lit scented candles and we’d take big bubble baths together.

“It was so romantic. The music would be playing low in the background and he loved to wash me, rub my feet and wash my hair.

“He told me he loved me. He was always telling me how I made him feel young, how I was sexy and beautiful. It was a real turn-on.”

Amanda says she and Urban were inseparable in the early part of their relationship, which continued until May 2006, less than a month before his wedding to Nicole Kidman.

She temporarily moved into the home he was then renting in the Brentwood suburb of Nashville and even met his parents, Bob and Marienne, who had arrived from Australia to spend the 2004 Thanksgiving holiday with their son.

But even more disturbing, perhaps, than Urban’s sexual infidelity to Nicole Kidman was Amanda’s insistence that Urban was constantly drunk and a heavy drug user throughout their long affair.

She added: “As I got to know him, it was clear he was a deeply troubled man.

“He drank constantly; his favourite was Crown Royal Reserve whisky. And he did drugs: Ecstasy, cocaine, pot - you name it…

“I took Ecstasy with him. His drug use was no secret.

It looks to me like Keith got back with Amanda briefly and then was whisked off to rehab and told her he could never contact her again. That pissed her off so much that she’s talk to the press about him.

Meanwhile Keith and Nicole were said to be planning a family Christmas together to coincide with Keith’s release from rehab. Nicole is said to have booked the largest suite in the Beverly Hills hotel and to have ordered a large Christmas tree for their reunion. This latest news is sure to put a damper on their plans.

I wonder how long it will be before Keith and Nicole split. It seems like Nicole will put on a brave botoxed face for as long as she can stand it so that she doesn’t look like a complete fool for having a failed relationship with a drug addict and cheater.

Here are pictures of the woman in question, courtesy of Splash News Online. She’s a buttaface, but would probably be gorgeous with a little surgery.

Britney was so drunk last Wednesday night that she couldn’t walk straight. Then the next night she puked all over the floor. Nice to know she was spending time with her children right before the holiday.

Britney Spears continued her boozy, out-of-control antics during a drinking spree at Hollywood’s trendy Le Deux nightclub Wednesday night, Dec. 20. An eyewitness tells Star, “Britney was drunk off her ass. She was completely trashed. She couldn’t walk straight, she couldn’t stand up straight. She was completely gone.”

Shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday morning, Dec. 22, after hours of non-stop partying, the mother of two, 25, “suddenly barfed all over the place,” the source adds. “There was barf all over the floor, some got on her; it smelled horrible. It was disgusting. It might have been sushi and saki she was spewing, since she’d dined at Katana Sushi Bar in West Hollywood a few hours earlier.

Britney is set to host a New Year’s party at Pure in Las Vegas this year. Word is that she will play a one minute clip from her new single called “Hate,” which should come out in March of next year. Her album is due for a release in the middle of 2007.

Pictures of Britney holding what is said to be a demo of her latest music were taken on 12/21 and found at BreatheHeavy.com

Ryan Philippe bought over $600 worth of lace camisoles and panties at an LA boutique and told a salesperson the items were for “someone special” most likely his latest girlfriend. He then headed to a children’s store and got a bunch of stuffed animals for his children.

RYAN PHILLIPPE strolls into a swanky LA lingerie boutique and buys three lace-and-silk camisoles ($125 each), plus three of those hot new boy-style panties ($105 each). He tells the saleslady the sexy stuff is for “someone special!” Then, just minutes later, Ryan pops up at a posh kiddie store, where he pops for a pile of stuffed animals!… Okay, folks, I’ve reported – now you decide! Sounds like he’s a generous dad – but was Ryan buyin’ frillies for REESE WITHERSPOON, his estranged wife, or…what? I mean, are these gifts for making up…or making out?

Chances are Ryan was buying the stuff for someone other than his estranged wife, Reese Witherspoon. Reese shut him out of the mansion they once shared with their two children, Ava, 8, and Deacon, 3, and most likely would not appreciate some sexy underwear for Christmas.

Reese was spotted out doing some shopping of her own on 12/19. Pictures from Hollywood’s Best.

- Trashtastic Anna Nicole has to return to the states and submit her daughter to paternity testing [Gabsmash]
- Michael Jackson has landed in Vegas [TMZ]
- Ten best celebrity encounters with the law [Best Week Ever]
- Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his leg skiing and needed surgery [DListed]
- Kate Beckinsale lets her seven year-old daughter wear makeup [Celebrity Baby Scoop]
- Britney Spears’ latest publicist quit after just a few months [CelebWarship]
- Brad and Angelina’s characters in Mr. and Mrs. Smith actually met in Columbia, so it’s kind of weird coincidence that they spent Christmas visiting Columbian refugees [Agent Bedhead]
- Maddox Jolie-Pitt is the top celebrity kid of 2006 [CityRag]
- Bono was honored with knighthood [Socialite's Life]
- Laura Allen: is too much botox hot or not? [Bastardly]
- Kate Beckinsale says her boob was hanging out during an interview [Celeb News Wire]
- Tara Reid in a bikini for Christmas. Plastic surgery and weight loss can only go so far [PopSugar]
- Christina Aguilera and her husband are doing fine [ICYDK]
- Courteny Love remembers trying to get dope on Christmas with Kurt Cobain [Spank Cheeks]
- Marilu Henner just married her old college roommate’s boyfriend. [Glitterati]
- Lindsay Lohan wears a hospital bracelet [I'm Not Obsessed]
- Peter Bjorn & John “Young Folks” music video [Evil Beet]
- Lindsay Lohan narrowly avoids flashing her crotch [IDLYITW]
- Jessica Alba wishes she were skinnier, must want to disappear [Hollywood Tuna]
- Santa is fat and ashamed [Celeb-Diet]
- Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are planning to renew their vows [CelebSlam]
- Paris Hilton is on vacation in Hawaii with Stavros Niarchos and Brandon Davis. Finger cuffs. [Hollyscoop]
- Michael Jordan is still trying to pick up chicks [Rhymes with Snitch]
- Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly are New Year’s Eve enemies [US Magazine]
- Mariah Carey is the future of fugly [Egotastic]

The folks at JibJab offer their Year in Review animation. Celebrity news takes equal billing with world affairs, and the result is a cute look back at 2006.

Newlyweds Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were reunited after a two month separation and spent Christmas in their native Australia. Keith flew into Sydney after having completed treatment for an alcohol addiction in an inpatient rehabilitation program.

The country music star flew Down Under on Tuesday to be reunited with his wife of six months. It is the first time the couple have been back in Sydney together since their romantic June wedding and will no doubt bring back happy memories for them both. The pair, who are based in Nashville, were spotted holding hands as they left a film studio in the city before being driven away in a blacked-out car.

It is believed Keith, 39, has now completed addiction treatment in the US after a drinking relapse prompted him to seek help. Nicole has been in Sydney spending time with her family and enjoying outings to the theatre in the run-up to Christmas as well as working on her new film Australia with co-star Hugh Jackman and renowned director Baz Luhrman.

Keith and Nicole’s reunion was undoubtedly marred by the news that a woman claiming to be Keith’s longterm lover recently spoke to a British newspaper. A 23 year-old “model” says that she had a relationship with Keith from 2002 until May, 2004 - just a month before Keith and Nicole were married. She claims that Keith was constantly drunk or on drugs during their time together.

Commentors here note that it doesn’t seem right that this woman is speaking out at this point, and that she must be doing it for the money. Commentor Patty says it has come out that she was paid for the story, has an agent, and didn’t actually give all the quotes that were attributed to her. I think that the story was told to the Daily Mail for a fee, and that they made up the quotes. (If Patty could comment with a link to where she read that news I would appreciate it.)

It does seem kind of cruel for this woman to be speaking out now. As I mentioned yesterday, I think she’s trying to get revenge for the fact that Keith ditched her again after their brief makeup session in October, and is trying to cash in while she can.

This doesn’t bode well for Nicole and Keith’s relationship if it’s true, of course, but given Nicole’s history and determination, it seems like she’ll try to make it work for as long as she can.

Update: Thanks to SkyShowbiz for these pics of their reunion.