Powerful Celebs......

It's been my last full day Stateside for a good long while and I made the most of it by shopping, I managed to get a new funky iPod touch for around £50 cheaper than UK prices, so I'm a happy bunny - as you can see it don't take much. Matt's also a happy bunny, he got himself a Rock Band 2 for the Wii, which he's insistent on playing with since we got home at 7pm - it's now just gone 1am and my head hurts!

I have very mixed feelings about coming home, I'll go in to more detail about that in a later blog, perhaps a couple of days after I've been home and seen the sea, which as a Brighton boy, I've missed like crazy. Plus there are people I've missed and want to see, but I feel like I am partly leaving home here in the States, I know I've only been here a very little amount of time, but three months is enough to get attached to a place. I love the weather for a start, which is wild but fun, I love the big squirrels that scamper around, I love seeing humming birds and bright red cardinals, I even like the poisonous spiders (It give one real reasons to scream and jump on chairs!) I like the slow pace of life, the easy of things, the friendliness of shop staff and people in the service industry. I like the strange adverts on the telly, I like the fact that a big plastic tub of coffee that can make over 200 cups is less than a fiver, I like the fact that 12 bottles of beer is less than a 4 pack back home.

America is celeb obsessed, well actually, it's not just America, it's England too, and Europe, in fact we are, as a global community getting more and more celebrity obsessed. Don't agree, well take a look in any news agents, or peek on the news stand and you will find there is a large number of gossip and magazines largely devoted to celebrities, which is by far the biggest sector of today's magazine industry. Hello for example has different issues in UK, America, Russia and Mexico among others, celebrity magazine OK is the number two best selling mag in WH Smiths, celeb is big business!

Forbes Magazine has released this years top 100 list of The World's Most Powerful Celebrities and it makes interesting reading. Oprah Winfry, last years number one has slipped down to number 2 on this years countdown. The TV chat show queen took home an estimated $275 million last year, clearly the list's biggest earner, and she continues to branch out in the media world, there is an Oprah magazine, a radio stations, not to mention her TV show and early next year there will be an entire TV Channel! She is regularly cited as one of the most powerful women in the world!

She may have trouble getting a kid out of Africa, but she has no trouble earning big bucks and wielding power - Madge is number two on the Forbes list. Her 2008 tour netted around $280 million and her marriage breakdown, toyboy baseball lover and Malawi baby controversy kept the 50 year old in the world's media all year long.

Ms Knowles is third on the most powerful celeb list, although I'm not 100% sure why. But then again, she did have 2 albums out in '08 along with doing 110 date tour and mixing it with the Obama's at his election ball. So she's got the ear of the President, which must mean she, in the words of Snap, Got The Power!

Golf wonder Tiger Wood is forth on Forbes hot 100 and that's for only four months of being active in 2008, mind you he still managed to earn $110 million!

Other notable celebs in the top 20 of the list include Jennifer Aniston at number 8, ex squeeze Bradly of Pitt was 9th. Britney Spears slogs in at 13 and closing the 20 is our most favorite Scientology's Tom Cruise.

Brit's own mister nasty, yet more and more lovable as time goes on, Simon Cowel ranked 25 by the American magazine, but Simon is so well known here, American Idol is much bigger than X Factor is back home. Also, thanks to Susan Boyle, Brits Got Talent has also raised Simon's profile as high as his trouser waist used to be!

Despite not having the best year of his life another Brit is in the chart at the 28th position, I'm sure his wifey is a little disappointed, but I bet David Beckham is chuffed! Speaking of DB, we were in Barnes & Noble book store the other day and one of the featured top selling books is DB's autobiography. But not only that, in Wal-Mart the very same day we saw a very big and quite pleasing poster of the said footie player, so it would seem that Beckham's bankable world sales power is still strong.

Dead on 40 on Forbes list is the lovely Ellen DeGeneres "Though her primary gig remains host of the popular talk-show hit The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she also lends her face and highly marketable name to American Express and CoverGirl. Given her much-discussed love of animals, her estimated 15% stake in Halo Purely for Pets pet food is hardly a surprise" says Forbes, which all helps to make her total earnings for 2008 around $38 million.

SJP is at 58 in the top 100 and the highest of the five Sex stars, apparently in 2008 she bagged earnings of around $29 million! Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is a powerful 70th on with a take home pay of $25 million, not bad for a guy under 21 with a little wand. Danny - any chance I can borrow a couple of thou? Probably not, maybe I can touch up another popular Brit in America, Hugh Laurie for a bob or two, he's 94th on the power list, earns a reputed $10 mill for his role as House.

And that's ya list, oh what's that, forgot number one, oh well that was Angelina Jolie, yep apparently the actress come professional mother has the most power in the world, amount celebs, she earned around $29 million, but one word from her in Hollywood and you are either a star or parking a car!

Oh and in the Daily Mail there was a great article by Suzanne Moore, about uppity gay people, like the lovely Paul Burston - read it here.

More soon!