And this time he lets people ask him questions!

What song was #1 the day you were born?

Kal Penn’s leaving the White House.

American University student journalist starts a firestorm.

Some of the dumbest things we’ve seen all week.

Um, Gwen, what are you wearing?!

Hot Guy = Good…when he keeps his mouth closed.
Smart Guy = Good…after you rid him of those light wash/reverse fit jeans.

But a hot, smart guy? Who also happens to be a gifted actor?
Uh, marry me?

We all love ogling hot celebs, but ogling hot AND smart celebs is even better! Believe it or not, many Hollywood stars have both the looks and the brains, whether they attended an Ivy League college or are involved in worldwide social activism.

Here are 10 male celebrities who have the whooooole package. A package I’d like to take home to mama:

John Krasinski

We all love Jim Halpert from The Office. He is utterly adorable and clearly too smart for a desk job selling paper. And, as luck would have it, so is the actor that plays him! John Krasinski studied theater at Brown University, even writing a play as his honors thesis. Not bad, Halpert, not bad at all.

Kal Penn

Don’t let his antics in Harold and Kumar fool you, because Kal Penn is one smart guy. His character on House was written out of the show so that Penn could take up the post of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison in the Obama administration. Plus, he’s currently pursuing a graduate certificate in international security at Stanford. Stanford? Obama? He’s making me swoon already!

Hugh Grant

We all know that Hugh Grant is a little…well, awkward, in the way that British actors often are. But he’s not just a bumbling, pretty man – he’s a smart, bumbling, pretty man! Grant attended Oxford University on a scholarship, studying literature and even graduating with honors. That explains why he was so wonderful as Edward Ferrars in Sense & Sensibility!

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart is pretty much the rockstar of late-night satirical news. Despite his height and, well, age, he’s one silver fox! But that’s not all; Stewart attended the college of William and Mary and is the host of The Daily Show, perhaps the only news show that actually forces the viewer to think critically about politics and events in the news. And, admit it, you try to incorporate his musings and witticisms into your political science and government papers. You know you do.

Matt Damon

Matt Damon must’ve had himself in mind when he co-wrote the screenplay of Good Will Hunting with his buddy Ben Affleck. Damon attended Harvard University and studied English there, although before he could graduate, he dropped out to pursue his acting career. We can forgive that, Matt, since your career has been a success…and since you’re so nice to look at…

James Franco

James Franco has a reputation for being – well, a bit too similar to his drug-dealing character in Pineapple Express, although he’s a major hottie even with the greasy hair. But he’s definitely no slacker; just look at his pursuit of higher education. Franco attended UCLA, graduating with a degree in English, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Writing at Columbia University and studying filmmaking at New York University. I have to say, I’m impressed with his ability to juggle two schools as well as a movie career. Now that takes a lot of talent!

Chris Noth

We know Chris Noth for his role as the enigmatic Mr. Big on Sex and the City. And, as you can see, he’s one good-looking man. But did you know that he received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, acting in twenty-five plays while he was there? One thing’s for sure: this man was born to act. And his ability to make Carrie Bradshaw (and her loyal viewers) swoon is proof of that!

George Clooney

It is only fitting that George Clooney continues to help others after achieving stardom thanks in part to his role on ER in the 90s. Now, he is not only an outspoken liberal and supporter of President Barack Obama, but he is also a leading voice in the campaign to end the genocide in Darfur. Time Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People for “using star power to illuminate the crisis in Darfur.” Now here’s a man using his celebrity power for good. A lot of celebs can learn a thing or two from him. *cough cough Paris Hilton cough cough*

Will Smith

Newsweek has it right: Will Smith is definitely the most powerful actor on the planet. He’s gorgeous, a successful actor, a musician – and, pretty damn smart! Smith once won a scholarship to MIT, but he turned it down in order to pursue music. Not a bad move, Will. Look at where you are now!

Edward Norton

Edward Norton is the actor’s actor. He is very serious about his craft and reluctant to embrace his celebrity status (as evidenced by the furrowed brow and whisper of “Who’s he?” that is undoubtedly falling from your lips right now). The fact that he studied history at Yale University might explain his uncanny level of dedication and discipline. Norton is a certainly gentleman and a scholar…and quite a good-looking specimen!

We’re back with another edition of G.W.W.E. (Guys We Wanna Eff)!  This week, kick back and relax with a big cup of  Kal Penn.

Not many men can put a gun to their heads one day and accept a highly prestigious federal job the next, but leave it to Kal Penn to pull it off. Earlier this week, the scrumptious House star had fans in a tizzy when they tuned in to discover his character, Dr. Lawrence Kutner, had committed suicide. Turns out, Penn had his character on the popular show killed off so that he could accept a job as President Obama’s Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison! With the economy being what it is, for anyone to make a career leap at this time is impressive, but the (literally) show-stopping switch by Kal is infinitely effable.

Who would have ever thought the guy-next-door cutie we saw in National Lampoon’s  Van Wilder or Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle would one day be swapping notes with the President? Turns out he’s been stacking his resume not only with starring roles but academic and political scores, as well. Having attended UCLA for college, Kal has served as guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and as a surrogate during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. What a catch!

This week, there’s only one man on my mind, and that’s Kal Penn. Not only is his career move from acting to public service inspirational, he’s certainly shocked us all. Who knows what kind of wildcard stunts he’ll pull in the bedroom? Kal, if you’re looking for a congratulatory eff, you can park it right here.

I’m not a stoner, and I don’t really find big boob jokes/pot jokes/fart jokes/beer jokes particularly funny. So why the heck did I like this film? Well, besides Neil Patrick Harris (fantastic) and White Castle (yum), I think the creators, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, are on to something here. The New York Times reviewed the new film recently, calling it a “stoner protest film”, due to the combination of drug humor and sharp political satire–what’s more, the review was actually quite positive.

For those of you who don’t know, Harold and Kumar’s first film involved two stoners determined to make it to White Castle in order to satisfy their munchies. The second film, however, as the name suggests, involves the ultimate stoner vacation (Amsterdam) gone horribly wrong. Harold, a Korean-American, and Kumar, an Indian-American are thrown off their flight after trying to light up in the bathroom. An overzealous Homeland Security officer draws the conclusion that North Korea and Al Quada have teamed up, and throws both of them in Guantánamo Bay. Hyjinks ensue, of course, but so does a very interesting treatment of race in the post-9/11 era.

Think back to all the classic boy-humor movies: where are the non-whites? They aren’t there, for the most part, and if they are, they are reduced to a comedic stereotype. Not only do Harold and Kumar buck conventional racial stereotypes (which are instead replaced by classic stoner stereotypes), but they are also not, as often happens with non-white leads, forced to actively address those stereotypes either. Take The Namesake for example, a recent film starring Kal Penn (the actor who plays Kumar), in which Penn’s character struggles between honoring his culture and fitting in with those around him. Neither Kumar nor Harold are struggling with much besides the desire for more pot.

The goal, the writers argue in the New York Times article, is to present two characters who are “beyond racism but live in a world that isn’t”. That the Harold and Kumar franchise is humor for the bong-loving set is exactly the point–the focus is shifted from the “moral outrage” that accompanies most treatments of race and onto the sheer stupidity of racism.

So even if you’ve long since moved on from frat humor, you may want to reconsider your stance on Harold and Kumar: there is more to their pot-fueled journey than you might think.

Here’s the lowdown on all the hotties I’ve mentally massaged:

Indiana Jones: Indy makes his love much like you might describe him: rough and dirty. Holy cow, he sure is good in bed, but it’s a little weird that he never takes that fedora off. He also doesn’t seem to care much about protection (I think he fed me a line like, “Where do you think I’m going to get a condom? CVS?”), and he never calls in the morning… probably because he seems to think my name is “Veronica.”

Nick Carter: The baby face of the Backstreet Boys is pretty inexperienced, and it shows. When you’re sleeping with Nick, you smile because he’s just so darn cute, but there’s also a part of you that wants to hightail it out of there as soon as possible. Yeah, it always seems like a good idea at first, but most often I find myself snaking through the piles of video games to get out of his room at 5 in the morning.

Jake Gyllenhaal: Always the gentleman, Jake gets up early every morning to present me with a simultaneous bouquet of daisies and tray of breakfast in bed (well-balanced, too, always including wheat germ). He’s a pretty good lay, but the problem is that his eyes are so dreamy I can never stop staring at them. A.W.K.W.A.R.D.

Taylor Hanson: Ladies, let me tell you… this man can “MMMBop” me anytime he likes. Sure, he’s lost most of the length on the lovely golden locks he once possessed, but trust me, he makes up for it in other ways. Oh, Taylor, don’t stop the MMMBop.

Jimmy Stewart: I’m not really short by any definition of the word, but Jimmy Stewart’s height makes things a little tricky anyway. Sometimes, he just leans over the edge of the bed and…OK, that’s probably TMI. Anyway, I know I’m not the only one who loves the lilt of his voice, and hearing it say, “Ahhh, Carly, that’s the ticket” just makes my day.

Lee Pace: Okay, I guess I technically sleep with Lee Pace’s character on Pushing Daisies, Ned, rather than Lee Pace himself. Thankfully, I’m not dead (at least as far as I know), so I don’t have to worry about rocketing back to the grave every time he touches me. As foreplay, though, I do make him touch all of my dead skin cells to bring them back to life. What can I say? The glow of my face turns me on.

Kal Penn: Sure, he’s hot, but he’s so immature. He seems to have channeled the character of Kumar perfectly, because five seconds after we’re finished he always runs off to “get a burger.” It’s a 50/50 chance whether or not he’ll come back that night, but I’m a lot better for his heart than all of those White Castle burgers—that’s for sure.

So don’t worry, ladies—overall, you’re not missing much. And if you ever need the 411 on how a Hollywood hottie does the deed, I’ll be happy to give you all the gory details—well, right after I take this phone call from Indy, anyway.

In a complete anomaly of the writers’ strike, House was a new episode this Tuesday and will be new AGAIN (!) next week.

Aside from the weird feeling I got from watching a Christmas-themed episode when it wasn’t actually Christmastime, I thoroughly enjoyed watching House get his Scrooge on.

Since no one actually watches the episodes for the “medical mysteries” that make up the plotlines, I’m going to jump right in to making commentary about the new medical team.

Taub: It’s still kind of an enigma to me why this dude is on the show, to be honest. As an actor, he doesn’t impress me much, and as a character, he impresses me even less. I mean, what is his purpose? What is House going to do with a middle-aged plastic surgeon? My guess is he’ll develop some kind of illicit relationship with Thirteen.

Thirteen: Thirteen is obviously the new Cameron, but I’m not sure I like her as much. She seems to have less attitude (although I did do a little cheer for her in this episode when she slammed House’s laptop closed in his face). Maybe she just annoys me so much because she is both gorgeous and too smart for her own good.

Kutner: Aside from the fact that I think Kal Penn is smoking hot, Kutner is my favorite doctor of the new crew. He’s sassy, he’s intelligent in a really sexy way, and I can see him giving House some major trouble in the future, which always makes for good TV.

So, hopefully the season will begin to pick up again now that the Contest that Wouldn’t End has finally ended. I still prefer Chase (oh, that accent), Cameron, and Foreman to the new team, but…only time will tell.