For the rest of us this is a time of reprieve and deep-seated depression. The NBA talent pool has been spread so thin we scour these days to find a game worth watching and we’ve already been over the problematic nuisance of hockey being aired regularly on live TV.

We will all go crazy and weird in these dwindling days of winter with nothing to watch but Pro-Am Golf and the on-going conflict between supermodel wives, 260 pound running backs and a shirtless, dancing Rob Gronkowski. This is the kind of mudslinging that will always follow a close Super Bowl; it’s what we’re left with when the dust settles and a few sensationalist talking heads are still pulling air time having yet to pack their bags and be air-bound for Pebble Beach.

But fueling rumors, feuds and finger-pointing will never fully suffice or amply feed a full-grown and healthy sports addiction. No, we will need action; high-caliber, 8-cylinder action and speed. We will need speed and high stakes and a continually updated score. And maybe some good scotch and a working phone in case things get serious enough that we need to talk to someone who knows about these things and is not afraid to casually wager on their outcome.

We are sports writers, a mean and rare breed that will settle for nothing less. We are the wild and free children of the night. We like our music loud and our sports on TV.

But as it stands, Gisele Bundchen is still the most important thing happening in football right now and there is only one NCAA Basketball game on tonight, a likely lopsided affair between Harvard and Pennsylvania. I suppose we might watch the Lakers play the Knicks or the Clippers and the Sixers but in this football induced hangover facing the prospect that we will not see another meaningful game for another six months, basketball seems pointless.

This curling thing might catch on though. There seems to be a rock and some sort of hammer and a lot of kicking and screaming and running around. This guy in the middle is some kind of quarterback and the rest of his team are sweeping with brooms? Is this making sense? Can you bet on this? Are there odds? Its 9-4 now for something called Manitoba and without knowing a thing my money is on them.

This Week’s Lines:

Clippers (+4) over Sixers

The Sixers are still averaging just above nine point differentials, are 18-8 and have shown they can slow high-powered offenses. But Lob City? There is really no one on this team that can stop Blake Griffin driving to the basket. There is really no one on any team that can do that save that freak moment when Danilo Galinari just shut him down. That’s the only time that’s ever happened.

Lakers (-4) over Knicks

These are two powerhouse franchises struggling to make ends meet amid changes in personnel. The Lakers have an excuse; they got worse with the departure of Odom and the aging of Kobe, Derek Fisher and the player formerly known as Ron Artest. The Knicks? On paper they got better with A’mare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony. In fact they arguably have one of the best front courts in the game but are 11-15 and fading fast in the Atlantic.  The Lakers are coming off a big OT win against rival Boston and they’ll be looking to build on that momentum as they sweep through the Northeast.

Jazz (+1.5) over Thunder

Then there’s the Northwest. The Thunder are clear frontrunners for this division but the Jazz, with an interesting assembling of talent, are lurking not far behind waiting for the boys in Oklahoma to stumble. This game line seems small, but this is a mismatch for the Thunder; Utah should be able to hang in there.

Rent the most expensive car you can afford

Live the dream, for once in your life! Let this day be the day that you walk into a dealership (okay, car rental bureau) and have your pick of the litter. Higher end models start at around $300 and go well over $1000 for a day of rental. Fill up the tank and pick up your fellow bachelors to get in on the day that will leave you known as the most resented boys in town on Valentine’s Day.

Let Off Some Steam at the Firing Range

Once you’ve taken the car past the places where your committed friends are blowing cash on girls they hope to sleep with, call your local firing range to tell them to expect some company. Take this chance to arm yourself with the biggest, baddest artilleries in the joint. Fire when ready.

Cigars and Scotch

Once you’ve let off a few rounds at the shooting range, your body will be coursing with adrenaline. You’ll need something to fix that. You know that high end cigar bar your boss always talks about bringing clients to? You’re going there next. Once you arrive, have someone walk you through the humidor and pair a decently priced cigar with their most expensive glass of scotch.

Steakhouse

Wave goodbye to your rental and call a limousine to pick you and your crew up. It’s going to be a daunting task to get into a steakhouse on Valentine’s Day, but with a firm handshake and a few 20’s we’re positive the maître-d will find a table that just opened up. Have the waitress uncork the wine and dig in.

Strip Club

Once you’re full of steak, potatoes and good wine, satisfy that one desire Valentine’s Day embeds into all males – the urge to see women in lingerie. Storming a local joint with a lively crew will not only be an epic way to end a great day, but also boosts the morale of the other guys in the bar.

What position are you applying for?

Missionary. If that isn’t available I’d like to be Playboy’s official “Roastmasterbater General”.

What is your education and training related to this job?

Over one million insults delivered on time, on target, and under budget.

How comfortable are you around half naked women?

Very, very comfortable. If you can make a woman laugh at herself you can make her do anything.

You’re known as the Meanest Man in Comedy, how will that skill transfer to your job here?

I only roast the ones I love.  Just ask Hef.  I roasted him  once and he was a great sport.  At the time he was sleeping with seven beautiful  blondes. From the podium I said, “Hef,  I guess you have one girlfriend to put it in and the other six to move you around?”.  He laughed harder than anybody and we raised over half a million for charity.

What would your previous co-workers say about you?

That I’m a lot of fun – especially if there is a trampoline or a bouncy house around. And also that I’m really a nice guy underneath all the hair and blubber.

Have you ever been fired or quit a job?

No, but I was voted off Dancing With The Stars after the first commercial break. When I broke into my Cha Cha Cha people thought it was a telethon and tried to donate money.

Describe your worst day at work.

I’m lucky. I love my job. Never a bad day. Unless you count my recent show in Milwaukee when a cougar in a fur coat and heels kicked me in the balls because I asked her if she was a finalist on Bulgaria’s Next Top Model.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully being interviewed in your magazine instead of your web site.

How do you react to instruction and criticism?

With an open mind and a clenched fist.

Describe the last major change you made. Why did you do it?

I fired my barber for making me look like a cross between Moammar Gadhafi and Harpo Marx.

Why should we hire you?

I’m much cheaper than Bill Maher and slightly better looking than Carrot Top.

What are your weaknesses?

Redheads, hot pastrami, and anyone who can’t take a joke.

When can you start?

Not until my current “Jeff Ross Roasts America” Tour winds down.  In every city I speed-roast volunteers from the crowd, so if you’ve always wanted to be roasted by a professional… this is your big chance. My tour schedule, as well as a naked picture of me are up at RoastmasterGeneral.com.  Keep in mind that my live stand-up show is very sexually oriented – so if you bring a date you’ll probably get some action afterwards.

Do you have any questions for the company?

Do I get free access to Playboy.com? That would really help me out during these long, lonely nights out on tour all by myself. xoxo

For Canadian tour date info: hahaha.com

For US tour dates: RoastmasterGeneral.com

Every Friday @playboy asks Playmates and other gorgeous women to flaunt their best assets to the world by tweeting sexy self-pictures and including the hashtag #FriskyFriday. The girls who make it to this page are one step closer to being chosen as a weekly winner by none other than Hugh Hefner and Playboy’s own Miss November 2010 Shera Bechard.

If you’re not on Twitter, which we highly recommend, fear not! Simply refresh this page randomly throughout the day to catch the best #FriskyFriday TwitPics!

February 10th ,2012
Director: Daniel Espinosa
MPAA Rating: (R)
Studio: Relativity Media

Denzel Washington fans may go rushing to the new rogue-CIA-man-on-the-run action thriller Safe House hoping for another Training Day.  Ryan Reynolds fans may go rushing to the movie hoping the actor might finally turn up in something watchable.  For both actors’ diehard fans and adrenalin junkies alike, Safe House delivers 115 minutes of jacked-up sound, fury, a relentless mash-up of car chases, double-crosses, gun play and overblown bone-crunching, all sparked by the pursuit of one hell of a missing microchip encoded with lots of politically incriminating info.

If you’re looking for originality, forget it; this one’s a can of day-old Red Bull, a big, whopping dose of still-Bourne. Too obviously worshiping at the altar of directors like Paul Greengrass and Tony Scott, the Daniel Espinosa directed, David Guggenheim scripted flick (filmed in intense Shaky-Cam in shades of cool Bourne blue) hinges on a played-out premise. There’s an idealistic, ambitious young CIA operative (the too-nice Reynolds, in good form) having to go on the run after a bloody, highly suspicious attack on a South Africa safe house holding for interrogation a badass, incredibly savvy renegade CIA vet (Washington, also good).

This is the kind of movie that wastes skilled actors like Vera Farmiga, Sam Shepard and Brendan Gleeson, in Bourne movie style, snarling lots of CIA chatter and posing before big computer displays while speculating whether Reynolds has also gone rogue. Meanwhile, it becomes painfully obvious that there is an enemy within the CIA ranks. Now a target, our shadowy hero darts all around South Africa trying to ferry Washington to yet another not-so- safe house while bullets fly, bad guys crash over and over into an assortment of getaway vehicles, stunt doubles are sent flying through windows and armies of anonymous villains keep popping up like targets in a shooter video game.

For those looking to check their brains at the door, Safe House provides a succession of blurry pictures to chomp junk food by. If you’re up for this sort of thing, it’s enjoyably predictable with its professional sheen, grinding relentlessness, head-smacking obvious “surprise” twists and cloak-and-dagger intrigue. Still, the slightly “off” but still effective play between Washington and Reynolds keep the thing moving most of the time, even if it feels like a trailer for one Bourne flick too many.

About the Author

Playboy Contributing Editor Stephen Rebello has written many Playboy Interviews and 20 Questions features. He is the author of such books as the notorious Bad Movies We Love (with Edward Margulies) and Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, the latter of which has inspired a dramatic feature film set for production in 2012. His most recent Playboy Interviews include Josh Brolin and Cameron Diaz.

Tonight: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan and Hermione Gingold in the five-star musical Gigi.

Arthur Freed produced the film. Vincent Minnelli directed it, and Alan Jay Lerner wrote it. The score was written by Frederick Loewe.

Lerner and Loewe already had a huge hit on Broadway with My Fair Lady. The delay in bringing that musical to Hollywood—because of its ongoing success on the stage—prompted Freed to urge Lerner and Loewe to write a similar musical for the screen.

The result is a complimentary Pygmalion tale—in which a young girl is reluctantly taught to become a courtesan by her grandmother—but so magnificently rendered that it remains one of the truly great musicals of all time. And one of the most romantic!

Based on a French Colette novel that was probably inspired by Bernard Shaw’s British play, Pygmalion, which was based, in turn, on the Greek “Pygmalion” legend, Gigi was turned into a French film in 1950. A year later, it was turned into a Broadway play that starred Audrey Hepburn before she made her Hollywood film debut.

Swifty Lazar negotiated the screen rights for Arthur Freed, which cost $125,000—plus $37,000 for Anita Loos, who had written and produced the play and another $10,000 for Swifty.

It was Lerner and Loewe’s first musical written specifically for the screen. It also constituted Chevalier’s first screen appearance in 22 years.

The idea of having Chevalier speak and sing directly to the camera as the narrator of the film was taken directly from the sophisticated Ernst Lubitsch musicals in which Chevalier starred in the early 1930s.

Gigi made Chevalier a star all over again.

Freed offered the role of Gigi to Hepburn since she had starred in the non-musical version on Broadway, but she declined. But when My Fair Lady was finally made into a movie in 1964, Hepburn accepted the role of Eliza Doolittle.

Caron, who had been starring in Gigi for two years in a London production of the stage play, got the part.

It was a good choice since she was actually French, and she could sing—for My Fair Lady, Hepburn’s songs were dubbed.

Jourdan’s role was originally offered to English actor Dirk Bogarde. Go figure!

Jacques Bergerac, who plays Eva Gabor’s skating instructor, was the husband of Ginger Rogers. No one bothered to ask if he could skate. He couldn’t.

The Production Code was still in effect in the 1950s, and Hollywood censors objected to a story that was based on upper-class prostitution.

They needn’t have worried. In the hands of Minnelli, Gigi became a romantic fairytale where love conquers all.

Chevalier, known to be difficult, was so pleased by Minnelli’s direction that he sent him a note after the first day of shooting saying, “If I were a sissy, I would be in love with you!”

Minnelli, the former husband of Judy Garland and father of Liza Minnelli, swung both ways.

The production began shooting in Paris in mid-July 1957—with 24 days in France and 35 days of interiors in Culver City.

The film ran 12 days over schedule and about $1.5 million over budget.

But no matter! The movie premiered on May 15, 1958 to rave reviews and proved to be a box office sensation.

The worldwide gross was $13.2 million, including revenues from the 1966 reissue.

Lerner and Loewe received 10 percent of the unknown net profits.

Gigi won 10 Oscars—earning Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art and Set Direction, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Musical Score, Best Song (for “Gigi”) and a special Oscar for Chevalier.

It was the most successful film in the long Freed/Minnelli collaboration.

When Minnelli wrote his autobiography, he titled it, I Remember It Well.

So now, the unforgettable Gigi.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More Hef’s Movie Notes

The Captain Morgan team invited Jo Garcia to Las Vegas for the January 2012 CES to take a private look at their newest app, Captain’s Conquest.

The mobile game, available in March, combines gaming and social media via the eyes of a privateer. Starting out as a mere stowaway, the goal of the game is to rise in the ranks and command your own fleet.  Players use their android or iPhone to collect rewards – both in-game and real life – and to receive party updates.

To life, love and loot!

For more information on Captain’s Conquest, visit  CaptainMorganUSA

Buying the perfect Valentine’s Day gift is like picking the red or blue wire on a live bomb. If you choose the right gift, all humanity is saved from the blowout of your girlfriend and if not…Well, you may be spending more money to make up for it. But as 21^st century men, there’s not one particular gift guide that will cater to each and every one of you. There are different kinds of relationships in this new era. Here’s a list to abide by while you’re shopping for Valentine’s Day.

Booty Call

If you love your girl on speed dial the same amount as getting lucky at 3am, it may not be a bad idea to call her up to split a bottle of Moët before getting to business. Don’t think of it as dollars wasted; think of it as dollars invested. Who knows, maybe she’ll put you on her booty call speed dial for the kind gesture.

Long Distance Girlfriend

You’ve been dating for a couple of weeks which means you’ve met her friends and have had numerous, sleepless sleepovers at your respective homes. You don’t want to blow your paycheck on a girl you just met but you also don’t want to be the dick that didn’t bring her something on Valentine’s Day. Keep it simple and buy her something that she can enjoy like Philosophy’s Sweet Talk Trio (she’ll be thinking of you while naked) as well as a set of earrings or a bracelet that doesn’t scream commitment. The gesture of jewelry is important, but may be given away at the drop of a hat if her friend likes it.

Honeymoon Stage

You’ve told your friends about her funny quirks which eventually called for a ban of girlfriend talk from all poker games. You think, maybe this is the one. First of all, don’t think these feelings need to be matched by a set amount of money. If she feels the same way about you, a small token like Kate Spade’s Meet Your Match bracelet and a night out at a restaurant should do the trick. Pair the diner with a bottle of wine where you can stare into each other’s eyes like the love sick puppies you are.  If you’re going to go this route, do not give her a jewelry box at the dinner table. That move can set you up for disaster.

Live-In Girlfriend

You feel like you’re miles away from the honeymoon stage and you’ve now seen her at her worst. Despite the hang-ups and fights, you love her for the person she is. Romancing may feel obsolete at this point in the game, (you tell her you love her and buy a bottle of scotch when her dad shows up), showing her she’s still number one is more important than ever. Pack your bags and check into hotel like the Crosby Street Hotel in Soho. Call ahead to have them place a gift wrapped lingerie set on the bed for her to try on before you head out for dinner.

Wife

You’re Valentine’s Day alumni, but it’s still possible to screw this day up. Go big at least once for your wife. Opt for a gift she can open on Valentine’s Day like a black swimsuit that will prompt her to ask why she would need it. When you reveal your big week planned at Le Reve Hotel & Spa in Mexico, you may have to cancel your dinner plans to reap your reward that’s waiting for you in the bedroom.

We use the term, ‘the city that never sleeps’ a lot. But Santiago is a city where the locals dine late into the night, dance until early in the morning and yet effortlessly make it to work that morning. Were we able to keep up with this vivacious way of life? Let’s just say that living this free spirit lifestyle was more of a dare than a leisurely night on the town.

12 PM  – Concha Y Toro

While a winery tour on this vast estate can take an entire day, the vineyard does cater to those who are more interested in the meat and potatoes of the visit; wine tastings and food pairings. From glasses ranging from $3 to $39 dollars, visitors are led by a sommelier to pair the famous Chilean wines with a variety of finger foods and cheeses. If you’re thinking of buying a couple of bottles for back home, wait until you get back into the city where they can be found for half the price. We do recommend hiring a driver for the day as the vineyard is outside of the city.

5 PM – The Clinic

After overindulging on fine wine, cheese and local dishes at the lavish Concha Y Toro estate, make your way back to the city and grab a beer at The Clinic, a bar located in the hip and trendy Bellas Artes borough. Owned and operated by the local satirical newspaper The Clinic, a Chilean version of The Onion, the restaurant by day and bar by night establishment is a popular haunt for local creative thinkers to grab a pint and converse loudly over art, politics and literature.  If you feel offended by the photos on the walls, don’t feel shy to ask the bartender for the rough translation.

8 PM – La Mar

While vacationing in Santiago you must, at least once, splurge on a professionally prepared seafood feast. La Mar, a Peruvian restaurant owned by famed culinary chef Gastón Acurio, may be known as a hot spot for foreigners to dine but and for good reason. The drinks are strong, the tapas are exquisite and the fresh seafood caught off the coast is used to create perfectly executed mains. If you can, try and reserve a seat on the outside terrace; the bustling nightlife of Santiago is the perfect ambiance for your chic Peruvian meal.

10 PM – Liguria

If you weren’t able to reserve a table at La Mar or are itching to sip on Chilean wines you can’t find at home, head on over to bar and restaurant Liguria. Known to spill onto the lively streets at dusk, this bright and quirky bistro serves some of the freshest oysters you will ever eat. If you’re vacationing in Santiago during the red tide, forgo the oysters and split a plate of pork ribs smothered in mustard sauce or Chilean stuffed pork, your stomach and friends will thank you.

12 AM – Whiskey Blue

Missing the ambiance of bars at home? American nightlife guru, Rande Gerber has set up shop in Santiago’s W hotel with his first South American nightclub, Whiskey Blue. Marrying high fashion, vanguard design and a rather extensive bar list, Whiskey Blue is the perfect place to cozy up on a purple velour couch with friends, check out the  Chilean women at the bar and enjoy a couple of night caps before hitting the streets to find a late night snack.

??? – Street Vendors

Not all street vendors are safe for tourists to eat, but as long as they are able to produce a permit or have one pasted on their carts, the food is most likely fair game. Some popular foods we urge you to try are empanadas (you’ve never had real empanadas until you’ve had them in Chile) or the ever popular sopaipilla, a fried pumpkin pastry smothered in pebre or mustard.

Launch Gallery

Known for traditionally conservative car designs, Lexus shocked crowds at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit with its vision of a luxury sports coupe: The LF-LC.

Combining elements of Lexus’s current line, including the synonymous front grill and rear sight lines; the LF-LC breaks boundaries for the company with the flared wheel bases, dynamic front light design, and back side air intakes. This is an exciting prospect if Lexus continues down this path, mostly due to the fact that the angles seen in this sexy concept are not usually seen outside super car producers Ferrari and Lamborghini.

While a mockup was shown in Detroit, Toyota told Playboy.com that the LF-LC is still too early in the concept phase for technical specifications to be established. It is “envisioned” as having an Advanced Lexus Hybrid Drive, which means it should roughly follow the current trend of creating eco-friendly sport cars.

The car’s interior is laid out with wood grain, leather, and suede; inset with dual 12.3” LCD screens for navigation and presumably consumption information (think the Chevy Volt’s center screen). These functions are controlled from a pop-up touch screen integrated into the vehicle’s central console.

Our favorite elements, however, lie in the cockpit style seating under the floating glass roof, which will strongly contribute to the experience of driving this futuristic roadster

ENGINE: Advanced Lexus Hybrid Drive

HORSES: TBA

CONSUMPTION: TBD, High-Energy Battery

PRICE: TBA

Specs are still scarce, but to check out the press release: Click Here

Check out the launch video from the 2012 Detroit auto show:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The technical and emotional brilliance of the trumpet played by Miles Davis has made him one of the most provocative influences in modern jazz. We spent two days with Miles not long ago in his rather unusual five-story home, a converted Russian Orthodox Church on West 77th Street near the Hudson River in New York City. Miles was between gigs at the time and we accompanied him on his restless daily home routine, asking questions at propitious moments while he worked out in his basement gymnasium, made veal chops Italian style for his family, took telephone calls from fellow musicians, his lawyer and stockbroker, gave boxing lessons to his three sons, watched TV, plucked out beginner’s chords on a guitar and, of course, blew one of his two Martin trumpets, running up and down the chromatic scale with searing speed. Spending time with Miles in the refuge of his own home, and seeing him surrounded by the activities and people he loves, it was hard to reconcile this reality with his sometimes flinty and truculent public posture. It was on this facet of his personality that we first queried him.

Playboy: Linked with your musical renown is your reputation for bad temper and rudeness to your audiences. Would you comment?

Davis: Why is it that people just have to have so much to say about me? It bugs me because I’m not that important. Some critic that didn’t have nothing else to do started this crap about I don’t announce numbers, I don’t look at the audience, I don’t bow or talk to people, I walk off the stage, and all that.

Look, man, all I am is a trumpet player. I only can do one thing — play my horn — and that’s what’s at the bottom of the whole mess. I ain’t no entertainer, and ain’t trying to be one. I am one thing, a musician. Most of what’s said about me is lies in the first place. Everything I do, I got a reason.

The reason I don’t announce numbers is because it’s not until the last instant I decide what’s maybe the best thing to play next. Besides, if people don’t recognize a number when we play it, what difference does it make?

Why I sometimes walk off the stand is because when it’s somebody else’s turn to solo, I ain’t going to just stand up there and be detracting from him. What am I going to stand up there for? I ain’t no model, and I don’t sing or dance, and I damn sure ain’t no Uncle Tom just to be up there grinning. Sometimes I go over by the piano or the drums and listen to what they’re doing. But if I don’t want to do that, I go in the wings and listen to the whole band until it’s the next turn for my horn.

Then they claim I ignore the audience while I’m playing. Man, when I’m working, I know the people are out there. But when I’m playing, I’m worrying about making my horn sound right.

And they bitch that I won’t talk to people when we go off after a set. That’s a damn lie. I talk plenty of times if everything’s going like it ought to and I feel right. But if I got my mind on something about my band or something else, well, hell, no, I don’t want to talk. When I’m working I’m concentrating. I bet you if I was a doctor sewing on some son of a bitch’s heart, they wouldn’t want me to talk.

Anybody wants to believe all this crap they hear about me, it’s their problem, not mine. Because, look, man, I like people. I lovepeople! I’m not going around telling everybody that. I try to say that my way — with my horn. Look, when I was a boy, ten years old, I got a paper route and it got bigger than I could handle because my customers liked me so much. I just delivered papers the best I could and minded my business, the same way I play my horn now. But a lot of the people I meet now make me sick.

Playboy: What types of people do you find especially irritating?

Davis: Well, these people that’s always coming up bugging me until they get me to act like this crap they heard. They ask you things, you say what you think, and if it ain’t what they want to hear, then something’s wrong with you and they go away mad and think you don’t like them. I bet I have had that happen 500 times. In this last club I played, this newspaper reporter kept after me when I told him I didn’t have no more to say. He wasn’t satisfied with that. After the next set, he come up again, either drunk or playing drunk, and shoved into me. I told him to get the hell out of my way, and then he was fine — he went right out and wrote that. But he didn’t tell how it happened.

And I’m mad every time I run into the Jim Crow scene, I don’t care what form it takes. You can’t hardly play anywhere you don’t run into some of these cats full of prejudice. I don’t know how many I’ve told, “Look, you want me to talk to you and you’re prejudiced against me and all that. Why’n't you go on back where you’re sitting and be prejudiced by yourself and leave me alone?” I have enough problems without trying to make them feel better. Then they go off and join the rest saying I’m such a big bastard.

I’ve got no plans of changing what I think. I don’t dig people in clubs who don’t pay the musicians respect. The average jazz musician today, if he’s making it, is just as trained as classical musicians. You ever see anybody go up bugging the classical musicians when they are on the job and trying to work?

Even in jazz — you look at the white bandleaders — if they don’t want anybody messing with them when they are working, you don’t hear anybody squawking. It’s just if a Negro is involved that there’s something wrong with him. My troubles started when I learned to play the trumpet and hadn’t learned to dance.

Playboy: You feel that the complaints about you are because of your race?

Davis: I know damn well a lot of it is race. White people have certain things they expect from Negro musicians — just like they’ve got labels for the whole Negro race. It goes clear back to the slavery days. That was when Uncle Tomming got started because white people demanded it. Every little black child grew up seeing that getting along with white people meant grinning and acting clowns. It helped white people to feel easy about what they had done, and were doing, to Negroes, and that’s carried right on over to now. You bring it down to musicians, they want you to not only play your instrument, but to entertain them, too, with grinning and dancing.

Playboy: Generally speaking, what are your feelings with regard to race?

Davis: I hate to talk about what I think of the mess because my friends are all colors. When I say that some of my best friends are white, I sure ain’t lying. The only white people I don’t like are the prejudiced white people. Those the shoe don’t fit, well, they don’t wear it. I don’t like the white people that show me they can’t understand that not just the Negroes, but the Chinese and Puerto Ricans and any other races that ain’t white, should be given dignity and respect like everybody else.

But let me straighten you — I ain’t saying I think all Negroes are the salt of the earth. It’s plenty of Negroes I can’t stand, too. Especially those that act like they think white people want them to. They bug me worse than Uncle Toms.

But prejudiced white people can’t see any of the other races as just individual people. If a white man robs a bank, it’s just a man robbed a bank. But if a Negro or a Puerto Rican does it, it’s them awful Negroes or Puerto Ricans. Hardly anybody not white hasn’t suffered from some of white people’s labels. It used to be said that all Negroes were shiftless and happy-go-lucky and lazy. But that’s been proved a lie so much that now the label is that what Negroes want integration for is so they can sleep in the bed with white people. It’s another damn lie. All Negroes want is to be free to do in this country just like anybody else. Prejudiced white people ask one another, “Would you want your sister to marry a Negro?” It’s a jive question to ask in the first place — as if white women stand around helpless if some Negro wants to drag one off to a preacher. It makes me sick to hear that. A Negro just might not want your sister. The Negro is always to blame if some white woman decides she wants him. But it’s all right that ever since slavery, white men been having Negro women. Every Negro you see that ain’t black, that’s what’s happened somewhere in his background. The slaves they brought here were all black.

What makes me mad about these labels for Negroes is that very few white people really know what Negroes really feel like. A lot of white people have never even been in the company of an intelligent Negro. But you can hardly meet a white person, especially a white man, that don’t think he’s qualified to tell you all about Negroes.

You know the story the minute you meet some white cat and he comes off with a big show that he’s with you. It’s 10,000 things you can talk about, but the only thing he can think of is some other Negro he’s such close friends with. Intelligent Negroes are sick of hearing this. I don’t know how many times different whites have started talking, telling me they was raised up with a Negro boy. But I ain’t found one yet that knows whatever happened to that boy after they grew up.

Playboy: Did you grow up with any white boys?

Davis: I didn’t grow up with any, not as friends, to speak of. But I went to school with some. In high school, I was the best in the music class on the trumpet. I knew it and all the rest knew it — but all the contest first prizes went to the boys with blue eyes. It made me so mad I made up my mind to outdo anybody white on my horn. If I hadn’t met that prejudice, I probably wouldn’t have had as much drive in my work. I have thought about that a lot. I have thought that prejudice and curiosity have been responsible for what I have done in music.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we had to find out the way into the heart of our December 2011 Cyber Girl of the Month, Kayla Love.

Playboy.com: What inspired you to become a Cyber Girl?

My ultimate goal is to become a Playmate and I’m just doing whatever I can to get there.  I love the Cyber Club, all the girls are super gorgeous.

Playboy.com: What qualities do you bring to Playboy.com that other women may not?

I’m fun, energetic, love people and am all about modeling and Playboy.

Playboy.com: If you weren’t modeling for Playboy.com what would you be doing?

I don’t know. I just moved into my new house and I had friends over and they were like you know you said you’d be out of the house at this age, that you’d be working for PB by that age. I guess I never thought of anything else because my dreams kept coming true.

Playboy.com: What appealed to you about being a Playboy.com Model?

When I was younger I was with my best friend and we’d snoop around because we were bored.  We found an issue of Playboy in my uncle’s room because he was living with us at the time. The girls were gorgeous and I was never afraid of nudity. It’s all artistic beautiful pictures and it’s a huge brand.

Playboy.com: What are your favorite physical attributes about yourself?

I like my nose. I’ve always said I’m happy I’m born with a little nose.

Playboy.com: Who is one woman you’d love to see pose for Playboy that hasn’t?

That’s a hard question! I’m obsessed with Jessica Alba.

Playboy.com: Name one vice/bad habit you have that most people don’t know about you?

I don’t know if this is a habit but I’m always shaking my legs and everyone hates it. All my friends hate that about me.

Playboy.com: One book you think everyone should read?

I guess Twilight. I’m obsessed.

Playboy.com: What were you like in high school?

I was friends with everyone. I was friends with the popular people but they could be kind of mean and catty to some people so I couldn’t hang out with them all the time.  I was also friends with nerds and stuck up for people that were picked on and stuff. I wasn’t into sports or anything I was just modeling for my whole high school career. I’m definitely a people person.

Playboy.com: What is the most important thing you have learned in 2011?

To be myself and not try to be something for someone else, to be myself and not be fake

Playboy.com: How do we win you over?

I want surprises and rose petals on the bed and strawberries and a glass of wine, I’m a dork.

Playboy.com: What qualities do you find sexiest in a man?

He has to be masculine, clean, very outgoing, smell good and funny. He needs to be funny!

Playboy.com: What are your goals for 2012?

I want to be a Playmate, I want to be in a movie or two, even if it’s an extra and I can work my way up, get signed with an agency and move to California.

Playboy.com: One person dead or alive you’d love to go on a date with?

Hugh Hefner!

Playboy.com: What was it like meeting Hugh Hefner?

It was a life changing experience. We were at dinner there were a lot of people and we have the same birthday so we had that in common. He’s such a sweetheart you just want to squeeze him. He’s exactly what you think he’d be like in person.

Playboy: Do you have any messages for your fans?

I love my fans and would be no one without them

Make sure to follow Kayla on Twitter (@Kaylalovee11)! Or check in with her on her Facebook Fanpage

“Like” Playboy.com on Facebook so you can submit questions to our next Facetime interview.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt, writing the decision for the federal court, noted that the legislation, widely known as Prop 8 served “no purpose…other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.”

The decision paves the way for the ruling to be taken to the Supreme Court in what could possibly be a monumental decision for gays and lesbians should the country’s top court find it unconstitutional for states to block same sex marriage.

If you haven’t been following the highly politicized and polarizing decision, we’ve assembled eight facts to help clarify the history surrounding the controversial legislation.

2 to 1: Ruling by the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals that a lower court judge correctly interpreted the U.S Constitution and the Supreme Court precedents that Proposition 8 was in violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

83 million: Money raised by both supporters and dissenters campaigning on Prop 8 prior to Election Day, setting a new national record for a social policy initiative and only dwarfed by a presidential campaign.

51.8 Million: Monetary differential between funds raised both for and against Prop 8 compared to those raised on 22 similar measures in other parts of the country between 2004 and 2006.

6: Number of states that issue same sex marriage: New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire. Five additional states: Hawaii, Delaware, New Jersey, Illinois and Rhode Island, recognize civil unions and spousal rights.

18,000: Number of same sex couples who tied the knot in California during the four month window.

10: Number of years federal judge Vaughn Walker had been with his same sex partner. Walker made the initial ruling declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional and later disclosed he was gay when he retired from the bench last year. Supporters of Proposition 8 argued Walker had a conflict of interest when he made the ruling, but his successor, James Ware rejected the claims.

52: Percent of the vote Proposition 8 passed by in the November 2008 election.

1996: Year of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Romer v. Evans which forbids government from singling out any on group of people, particularly gays and lesbians for “disfavored legal status.” The Romer Test has long been considered a precedent to reform same-sex marriage laws.

Madonna headlined the Super Bowl half-time, Ferris Bueller was in a Honda Commercial and Van Halen just released their latest  album. And yet, it’s 2012. In all honesty, what can be written that hasn’t been written about one of the most influential hard rock bands of all time? Van Halen has sold over 80 million albums worldwide, is one of five rock bands to sell more than 10 million copies of not one but two albums in the US, and despite the influx of flavor-of-the-week pop bands and single song downloading, proudly holds the rank of most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

Yes, it’s quite apparent that Van Halen reigns supreme over us all.

That being said, it’s always trying for fans to anticipate an album that is being released well beyond the heyday’s of a mega band. The not so triumphant return of Guns ‘N Roses in 2008 made fans of American hard rock nervous wrecks. But, devotees who revel in their glory years by dusting off boomboxes and rocking out to 1984 in suburban garages, take comfort in knowing that A Different Kind of Truth isn’t your run of the mill comeback album. Van Halen ransacked their repertoire to find any unreleased demos, rarities or half written songs to revamp, recut and renew. A Different Kind of Truth is the first studio album with lead vocalist David Lee Roth in 27 years.

David and Eddie collaborated in the past and the present on A Different Kind of Truth with tracks like “Tattoo,” the first song and single off of the album, “Blood and Fire” in which David Lee Roth fittingly sings “I told you I’d be back” before an epic Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. The album ends with “Big River” where Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang who replaced Michael Anthony as the bass player in 2006, really shines.

All in all, A Different Kind of Truth is what you would expect from Van Halen. The tracks are familiar and tried, but that’s also what is so great with this band. They’re there for you when you needed to drive down a deserted highway and pound back a couple of domestic beers with your friends. A Different Kind of Truth will be another 13 tracks you’ll be able to put on your playlist when you’re in need of a little Van Halen.

Best Tracks: “Big River“, “Blood and Fire“

Skip These: “Outta Space“,“Stay Frost“

Launch Gallery

“…And just like that, out of nowhere, a great big screaming eagle came swooping out of the goddamn sky and took my hat. Shredded it to bits.”

“Jesus, do eagles do that?”

“This one did! Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Nearly took off my head and that’s why I never bet the Eagles to win anymore.”

“That’s smart, Jim. The Eagles were not a very wise investment this year.”

This was Jim. He was your average American in every way. Average height, average weight, average age with an average job, an average wife, an average annual income and probably two and a half completely average kids. Jim owned an average house, an average car and a dog of no spectacular pedigree. In fact to see him from afar you might even call the dog average.

But on this particular Friday Jim was doing something very un-average. Today, Jim was whooping it on an airplane bound for Indianapolis, home of Super Bowl 46. On this particular night he and a million like him would be moving through their own personal Mecca, an ever-changing place devoted to fast-living, food, football, the occasional spat of violence and fun.

Jim is still talking by the way, about manatees now and excited as all get out to be travelling at great speed towards the biggest sporting event of the year, completely unaware that something very rare is about to happen to him. He’ll soon be gripped in a life-changing moment that will only ever happen every so often and under perfectly ideal circumstances.

“…and there are about 30 or so manatees that just come right up into the strait and start mating like horny bunnies all over my backyard…”

“Jim, listen to me,” I said, interrupting him and grabbing him by the collar. “That story is completely ridiculous. You shouldn’t tell it to anybody. They lock people up for babbling about things even half as crazy as what you’re telling me now and by god, they’ll lock you up too.”

He was silent, wide-eyed and fearing for his life.

“Jim, listen,” I said, releasing him from my grip and straightening out his collar. “Jim, I’m your friend up here and I don’t think you’re crazy but I’m going to help you out anyway. You’re going to the Super Bowl right?” He nodded but I couldn’t tell if he understood the question. “Goddammit, Jim! Answer me!”

“Right, ya, the Super Bowl,” he managed, his mind still reeling from the sudden shock.

“Good Jim, now listen, I’m going to bring you to the Playboy party tonight where you can meet some real people who talk about real things and dance into the night with the statuesque blondes behind the bar. Are you listening Jim?”

He nodded again, the light coming back to his eyes.

“But Jim,” I said, leaning in and becoming very serious, “you have to promise me something. Will you promise me?” He nodded a fourth and final time. “Jim, you have to promise me that you’ll stop talking about the goddamn manatees fucking in your backyard. It’s totally queer and not polite conversation in the company of strangers. Will you promise me you’ll stop talking about the manatees?”

He agreed and I assured him his life would be better for it and I went back to reading an article in Time about the collapse of the Keystone pipeline. Jim, for better or worse, just stared straight ahead and said nothing, maybe to nobody ever again.

***

That would be the last time I saw Jim that weekend and I only mention him because he was the standard by which the mold was made. Millions of Jims were descending on Indianapolis and millions more were watching at home wishing they were. This was America at large and alive, the jersey-clad masses moving in hordes through an otherwise quiet city on an otherwise inauspicious night. It was Friday, 47 hours away from the Super Bowl and we were all young, drunk and free.

“Is it always like this,” I asked Lexi, a local girl and our guide for the weekend through the clambering chaos.

“No, never, not even a bit. Indy is deadly quiet on most nights. You could hail a cab for miles, hear a pin drop.”

As it was, we were stuck in foot traffic, blocked in by thousands of Tom Bradys and Eli Mannings all circling in a drunken swarm around the car. Downtown Indianapolis had morphed into a haven of excess, a Mardi Gras 800 miles removed and two weeks early.

“My god, all these people can’t be going to the Super Bowl? The stadium wouldn’t hold half of them. It wouldn’t hold a quarter!”

“Half of these people aren’t going to the Super Bowl,” replied Lexi, jamming on the horn and slowly swerving around another hapless pedestrian. “Half of them are full-time partiers travelling around like a circus from town to town until they either burn it down or just burn out. They’ll never see a Super Bowl and they don’t really care. That’s not why they’re here.”

And they weren’t. Only 68,658 would actually see the game live and a couple hundred thousand more would watch from the bars surrounding the stadium; the rest of them were total action freaks, high powered animals looking for a good time in a new city however many miles away from whatever they called real life. Escape was an overarching theme here and we were only minutes from the ultimate one.

Launch Gallery

It’s common knowledge that Playboy parties attract the upper echelons of celebrity.  But combined with the bright lights of the Super Bowl, the stars came out in droves to the Bud Light Hotel in Indianapolis for Playboy’s Carnival Mystique. From sports stars like Shaq and Aaron Rodgers to TV stars like Jessica Szohr and performances by Ne-Yo, the guest list was as diverse as it was long. Check out the gallery to see who came out to hang with the playmates and be sure to check back tomorrow for more photos of the weekend’s festivities.

From the delicious to just plain weird,  Late Night Foodie brings us the round up of what’s going on in the world of food.

Food Dare

Just when you thought the bacon fad was over, the big wigs over at Jack in the Box decided to try their hand at bacon milkshakes. There have already been a few fast food chains that attempted (unsuccessfully) to perfect the recipe of liquefying the heavenly slices of pork and mixing it with milk and ice in the past, so why not try again. But in all honesty, why does this keep happening? If you’re interested in trying the newest attempt at the Bacon Shake, head on down to your participating Jack in the Box as they’re only serving these drinks up for a limited time.

VIP Dinners

Food Network lifer and all around nice guy Jamie Oliver will be heading to Sydney in early March to visit his restaurant, Jamie’s Italian. It’s not usually newsworthy when a celebrity chef makes his rounds to his own restaurant, but what caught our eye about this particular Jamie Oliver owned chain was the fact that they do not cater to reservations like other celebrity chef eateries. Oliver makes it easy for guys who are notoriously known for forgetting it’s date night. Oliver will be visiting his restaurant in Sydney on March 4^th and 5^th.

Burger Radar

Kate Upton, aka the woman of your dreams, aka the 2011 Sports Illustrated rookie of the year, has been cast as the latest fast food bombshell for the latest Carl’s Jr. /Hardee’s commercial for the new Southwest Patty Melt that will air later this month. What a perfect time to reflect on all of the other women who have  chomped down on Hardee’s burgers in the past like Paris Hilton, Audrina Partridge, Padma Lakshmi and Kim Kardashian…. The new burger will be available at all Hardee’s restaurants on February 20 and at Carl’s Jr. restaurants starting February 22. Be sure to check out @KateUpton for BTS candid shots as well as her doing what she does best: being hot in a bikini. Thanks to The Smoking Jacket for the pic!

Suds ‘n Grub

We’ve heard of people standing in line for gadgets, but this is the first time we’ve ever heard of people waiting in the cold to get their hands on an alcoholic beverage. Foothills Brewery released their wildly popular seasonal stout beer, Sexual Chocolate, late last week to hundreds of diehard fans who waited for the bar to open in Winston-Salem. Celebrities also took to Twitter to find the closest place to secure their own pint of the cocoa, espresso and coffee infused stout. Community’s Joel McHale and Danny Pudi joked about jumping on a Vespa to drive the 788 miles to the pub in Salem. We’re not sure if you will be able to find your own bottle of Sexual Chocolate, but if you see it around, grab one.

Afie Jurvanen’s solo project, Bahamas, may be named after the notion of a paradise, but his sophomore album Barchords evokes anything but. Barchords will deviously charm every memory of past lovers, both fond and exhausting, from your subconscious. Jurvanen toured with Indie pop artist Leslie Feist (1234, My Moon My Man, I Feel It All) and secured Canada’s Polaris Prize nomination as well as a Juno nod for his first album Pink Strat in 2010. Jurvanen admits that writing this album was an emotionally difficult feat to accomplish, which is why it took so long for it to be released.

While the music itself on Barchords will cater to fans of acoustic lo-fi California sound and carefree strums that are prominent on many Brushfire Records; Afie’s autobiographical lyrics, many of which modern day musicians would shy away from, distinguish him from the rest. It’s refreshing to have an artist release a solid recording without the use of modern day music devices. What’s on Barchords can be duplicated by Afie live, and his haunting lyrics will no doubt set the tone of a room wherever played.

Opening the album with a laid back plucking on the acoustic track “Time and Time Again,” admitting to the world that he drove someone away by drinking in “Caught Me Thinkin” and wrapping up with a Hawaiian slide guitar track entitled “Be My Witness,” this album will no doubt be a hit for lazy summer time days spent reminiscing. It’s a soundtrack for hot sticky outdoor concerts attended with budding loves and the perfect album to play to remind you that every hard feeling may repeat itself, but like others they too shall pass.

Best Tracks: “Be My Witness,” “I Got You Babe,” “Caught Me Thinkin”

Skip These: “Snow Plow,” “Your Sweet Touch“