Jonas Brothers launch their new book "Burning Up: On Tour With The Jonas Brothers."

The day after the American Music Awards, the Jonas Brothers had no time to rest as they did a spot on Jay Leno then had to attend their book launch for their upcoming tour memoir "Burning Up: On Tour with The Jonas Brothers."

In a special private book launch in West Hollywood, CA the Jonas Brothers along with special guests were treated to various life size photographs from the Jonas Brothers' tour.

According to the Disney Book Group, "This is the first and only book written by Kevin, Joe, and Nick. You'll get a first hand view of their life behind-the-scenes and on stage performing for fans around the world. The book includes 200 never-before-seen amazing photos with detailed descriptions by the brothers themselves--making this the ultimate backstage pass to life on the road with the Jonas Brothers."

For us photographers, it was originally a negative start to the book launch event as we were subjected to being told to leave the red carpet area and just take pictures of the guests and the Jonas Brothers coming out of their car. Some of us protested as we said, "We do not take pap style photos. Don't you want us to cover the event with the backdrop of Disney Book step and repeat area?"

Finally, the publicist found us a makeshift spot to take photos of the Jonas Bros and guests in front of a wall that had the front cover of the book displayed.


Jordan Sparks poses next to the cover shot of the JoBros new book.

Thanks to the publicist for finally finding a resolution to us carpet-less photographers. But then we were subjected to security attitude as one security took his post so seriously that he acted like a police officer asking one photographer to stay in one certain area. Unfortunately, for my colleague as he listened to the security guard's assault of words, he just stared at the guard then turned away but this guard just kept staring at my photog colleague. I finally told my colleague to say to the security guard, "I understand." That finally made the security guard leave back to his position. Hmmm sometimes these security guards had such bad attitudes that it makes us legitimate photographers not want to do our jobs.

Oh well, we got over it as the rent-a-cop had went back to his position. Funny thing though, I saw that particular rent-a-cop at another red carpet event and still had that nasty attitude.

We as photogs respect security when they respect us.

Anyways, back to the book launch. It was a bit nice to see that the Jonas Bros seems humble. They actually took time to pose for us photogs. Guests included Maurice Bernard and Nancy Lee Grahn of "General Hospital," Madison Pettis, Jordan Sparks, Meghan Martin and Roshon Fegan.

I was privy to actually attend the book launch and not just cover the red carpet. My good friend Becky had me accompany her into the party. With the Jonas Bros not being of age, the bar had a special drink mix called the Jonas Brothers Drink. From what I could remember the bartender said it was a mix of fruit juices. I ended opting to add some vodka to it.

The food spread was great with finger licking bbq chicken, two types of pasta, pizza, chilli and mashed potatoes. Along with the main entree, we had appetizers of shrimp cocktail and pigs in a blanket.


Joe Jonas spots my camera as the Nick and Kevin look the other way.

To top it off was a dessert bar of ice cream. I think I saw Joe Jonas stick with vanilla bean. The funniest thing was my friend was asking for off the wall things/souvenirs from the Jonas Bros to give to her friend's daughter. The most craziest thing was Becky taking a brownie and asking Joe to put a thumbprint on the brownie. He kind of looked at her like she was a bit crazy.

As she did that Nancy Lee Grahn of "General Hospital" passed by me and I commented on her raspberry colored martini. I was a bit surprised as she smiled and said, "Would you like to taste?" I graciously said, "No. I just had a Jonas Bros drink." Nancy quipped back at me, "Oh then you need this." I said, "Oh no, really I don't. I had the bartender add vodka to the Jonas drink."

Disney publicists were taking polaroid shots of guests and tacking them up to a wall. There was also another wall in which guests could write a note to the JoBros.


Madison Pettis is all excited for the JoBros book.

As the party began to wind down, the JoBros made their way to the string quartet to listen to them play. It was a bit cute as Joe also acted like a conductor to the quartet for one song.

It was finally time to go as we were given a gift bag containing the new book and cd from the Jonas Brothers. Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic with the bros as I didn't want to seem like a crazy middle aged man acting like a fan.


Jonas Brothers with Jordan Sparks.

Until next time, "Over The Shoulder!"

All photos by me, Peter Gonzaga. All rights reserved

Thanks to all that read my post!

Today is Thanksgiving and I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude for all the readers who have supported my blog and all the new visitors who unknowingly end up on my site through their internet searches.

Thanks to all who comment good or bad. The comments help me grow.

Hope you, your family and friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving as I give thanks to you and give you more "Over The Shoulder" during this holiday season.

Here is a video of my nephew and his pre-school class singing about the world is like a rainbow with different people. It's a new era and a new age with a new president. Hopefully we can be acceptable of others and not just tolerant.

Enjoy your turkey day!!!!

Candice Gingrich tells brother Newt, enough is enough!

Dear Newt,
I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protestors of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O'Reilly on FOX News. I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, "There you go, again."
However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked.

The truth is that you're living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as -- and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.

Welcome to the 21st century, big bro. I can understand why you're so afraid of the energy that has been unleashed after gay and lesbian couples had their rights stripped away from them by a hateful campaign. I can see why you're sounding the alarm against the activists who use all the latest tech tools to build these rallies from the ground up in cities across the country.

This unstoppable progress has at its core a group we at HRC call Generation Equality. They are the most supportive of full LGBT equality than any American generation ever -- and when it comes to the politics of division, well, they don't roll that way. 18-24 year olds voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8 and overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. And the numbers of young progressive voters will only continue to grow. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, about 23 million 18-29 year olds voted on Nov. 4, 2008 -- the most young voters ever to cast a ballot in a presidential election. That's an increase of 3 million more voters compared to 2004.

These are the same people who helped elect Barack Obama and sent a decisive message to your party. These young people are the future and their energy will continue to drive our country forward. Even older Americans are turning their backs on the politics of fear and demagoguery that you and your cronies have perfected over the years.

This is a movement of the people that you most fear. It's a movement of progress -- and your words on FOX News only show how truly desperate you are to maintain control of a world that is changing before your very eyes.

Then again, we've seen these tactics before. We know how much the right likes to play political and cultural hardball, and then turn around and accuse us of lashing out first. You give a pass to a religious group -- one that looks down upon minorities and women -- when they use their money and membership roles to roll back the rights of others, and then you label us "fascists" when we fight back. You belittle the relationships of gay and lesbian couples, and yet somehow neglect to explain who anointed you the protector of "traditional" marriage. And, of course, you've also mastered taking the foolish actions of a few people and then indicting an entire population based on those mistakes. I fail to see how any of these patterns coincide with the values of "historic Christianity" you claim to champion.

Again, nothing new here. This is just more of the blatant hypocrisy we're used to hearing.

What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions. That's really so '90s, Newt. In this day and age, it's embarrassing to watch you talk like that. You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because, there is no place for you in it.

In other words, stop being a hater, big bro.


- Candace Gingrich

Far*East Movement makes online history with first live online streaming of a record release party!

Last night in a studio in Burbank, CA, the hip hop/rap group Far*East Movement or also known as FM held their record release party for their upcoming album Animal. The most unique element of their party was the fact that they were able to bring the fans into the studios via a live stream of their party.

Realizing the importance of connecting to their fans, the group decided the bring the party to the people via the live online broadcast of the party which included a live show of Far*East Movement performing cuts from their previous albums and new cuts from the Animal album.

Through the kindness of StickAm, FM was able to interact with their fans through the blog and live chat. FM egged on their online party people to answer questions and win prizes throughout the release party.

According, to the group, an online release party has never been done before. This may be paving the way for new artists to connect with their fans through the net.

For more information on the hottest hip hop/rap group bubbling under the radar visit www.fareastmovement.com

Check out a quick peek as my co-host Elmer joined in on the party


More sample clips of Far East Movement's sound to come!

The Dance Crews show their support for Culture Shock LA at The Expo

This weekend was filled with dancing and music as I attended an event called "The Expo." It was a charitable event to benefit Culture Shock LA. Guests included former dance crews and dancers of "Randy Jackson Present America's Best Dance Crew," "So You Think You Can Dance," "America's Got Talent" and two actresses from the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana."

They were all there to lend their support and awareness for the Los Angeles Chapter of Culture Shock.

Culture Shock® is a non-profit 501(c)(3) hip-hop dance troupe dedicated to cutting-edge entertainment, dance education and outreach to diverse communities. Founded in 1993 by Nike Dance Trainer Angie Bunch, Culture Shock has grown from its home location of San Diego to cities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Take a peek and some of the interviews I had my other correspondent Elmer do with the various celebrity dancers plus performances from Kaba Modern, Culture Shock and Future Shock....

Romi Dames of "Hannah Montana"



Katerina Graham of "Hannah Montana" fame and upcoming film "17 Again"


Yuri and Taeko of the Yuri and Taeko Show


Culture Shock LA's performance


Future Shock's performance


Kaba Modern


Do Knock Cruz of Super Cr3w interview


Super Cr3w at The Expo


Fanny Pak interview


Ryan Conferido of "So You Think You Can Dance" and dance crew Quest

Twilight lights up the box office!

Looks like....no doesn't look like, "Twilight" did blow out the competition at the box office this weekend by raking in $70 million. With that in mind, it has Summit Entertainment talking sequel.



Here's the official word from Summit Entertainment:


SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
TWILIGHT SEQUEL - NEW MOON

Los Angeles, CA November 22, 2008 — Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON, the second installment of its filmed franchise TWILIGHT, the action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series titled, New Moon. The first movie in the TWILIGHT franchise, the self-titled TWILIGHT, arrived in theaters this weekend to sold-out showings.

Stephenie Meyer stated, "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment. I'm thrilled to have the chance to work with them again on NEW MOON."

Aaron Yoo gets his playlist together of why he's proud to be Korean American

Last night in Los Angeles, KoreAM magazine celebrated its Unforgettable event that highlights achievement of Korean Americans in the U.S. Hosted by Margaret Cho, various Korean American came through the red carpet to show their pride in being American and in particular Korean. Up and coming actor Aaron Yoo took to the carpet and talked to this blogger about his experiences in Hollywood.


Aaron Yoo shows his support for Shia LaBeouf during the "Eagle Eye" premiere in Hollywood. ©Pacific Rim Photo Press.

For Aaron Yoo, this young actor started his career as a cinematographer then moved into acting in 2003 with his first role in "Ed" as a student. His major breakthrough in film came in the form of the independent feature "Rocket Science." However, the film that propelled him to mainstream America was "Disturbia" starring Shia LaBouf in which he played Shia's best friend.


Aaron Yoo in "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist."

From Disturbia, moved onto the sleeper hit "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." Yoo played Thom, the gay leader of Nick's (Michael Cera) punk rock band The Jerk Offs. Interestingly enough, this character didn't perpetuate the flamboyant stereotype that gays are perceived in movies and tv.

As I caught Aaron on the red carpet for the KoreAM event, this rising star had a lot to say about being Korean American in the entertainment industry, his upcoming role in the remake of "Friday The Thirteenth" and turning the tables on my by asking about what kind of video camera to get since he's going on a trip.

Check out the full interview clip of Aaron. He's such a hoot to talk to!