speaking of pop culture divas, also born on july 24 is laura leighton, melrose place's resident nut-job vixen. you know, i've realized recently that the theme song for mtv's undressed is fantastic for interpretive dance much like the melrose place theme. in fact, getting up to shake your can spasmodically and provocatively during the opening title sequence was the only reason to watch during the last few seasons. think elaine from seinfeld with some go-go boy from queer as folk plus shields and yarnell and you're almost there. also celebrating a birthday today is lynda carter, you know, WONDER WOMAN! this requires no additional editorial comment. and what about gus van sant? and amelia earhart? and anna paquin? how about michael richards? and ruth buzzi? AND zelda fitgerald? you guessed it. all leos born july 24. talk about some fantastic company.

at 11:05 p.m. CT (12:05 a.m. ET), i received a telephonic birthday greeting from this one, informing me that if i was in new york, it would already be my birthday. of course, at that point, there was still 55 minutes left of his birthday in my whereabouts and it got me to thinking about how to maximize BIRTHDAY. consider this. if you depart Tokyo at 8:40 in the evening, you arrive in Honolulu at 9:00 that morning, allowing you the opportunity to live that day all over again. anyone interested in travelling the Pacific next summer?