If Kathy Griffin wins another Emmy, she promises "No more Jesus comments" – ? la her infamous "Suck it" remark last year upon winning the Emmy for best reality program for her Bravo show "My Life on the D-List."

"Offending groups is fine as long as you don't offend the actual Academy," she says with a laugh. However, "If I'm lucky enough to be nominated again, and to win, I do like to plan something."

It's her way, she makes clear, of contributing to the show. "I love awards shows. I love to watch them with my gay guys. I live for the moments when someone shows up drunk or makes a ridiculous political statement."

She goes on, "Political correctness is the enemy of comics. My hero is George Carlin. I've been loving watching all the tributes to him — a lot from people who, when he was alive, said he went too far and he was outrageous. But he never ruined anybody's life. He never ruined anybody's career. He never took down any religion. And he did it, God love him, 'til he was 72. Oh, this was a brave dude."

"The people I look up to are the troublemakers — the Bill Mahers, the Howard Sterns, the Roseannes," Griffin quips. Being compared to Joan Rivers is "an honor," Griffin says. "I love her! I can't stand the sticky sweet."

Did her political incorrectness have anything to do with the breakup of her relationship with Steve Wozniak?

"Oh, God no," she responds. "Steve is the most open-minded guy in the world. There's nothing I could say that he'd find inappropriate or shocking — which is one of the things I still just adore about him. He says controversial things all the time," she adds. "He's constantly getting in trouble with Mac, like when he criticized an element of the iPhone. There was such outrage on the Web site. What does he care? He's got a billion dollars; he doesn't work for Apple anymore. He doesn't have to give a f—-."

THE INDIE EYE: Former "8 Simple Rules" regular Amy Davidson plays a very unorthodox "Orthodox Jewish girl" in the upcoming indie film, "Goyband."

"It takes place in the Catskills," says Davidson of the film that also features rocker/Broadway star Adam Pascal. "My character falls in love with a has-been rock star (Pascal) but she lives in a very Orthodox Jewish community. She wants to break free and ends up leaving her community and family and following her heart — just like what I did when I moved to L.A.," recalls the actress, who hails from Phoenix, AZ. "Only my family didn't turn their backs on me like what happens with this girl. It was a fun project. I love anybody who's going to follow their dreams. And Adam Pascal is such a doll."

GOODBYE, HELLO: It comes as no surprise that Chris Noth is heading off to new pastures after putting in eight seasons as Det. Mike Logan on "Law & Order" and "L&O: Criminal Intent." Not only does the actor known as Big to "Sex and the City" fans have a full plate of other projects — including Renee Zellweger's currently shooting 1950's set comedy, "My One and Only" (based on the larger-than-life adventures of George Hamilton's mother) and his own project about Vietnam War photographers — he was clearly running out of steam on "L&O."

In fact, Chris sounded almost as if he was talking himself into staying on last fall, when he told us, "I'm more of a realist now than anything. Doing the show allows me to work in New York and it's pretty good pay. It's allowed me to do theater and other things. And especially considering what's out there in TV, I can do the show with a good conscience, without totally feeling like I've sold out." Still, he admitted to concerns that he was playing it safe, and said, "I've got a lot of characters in me to play … Obviously I won't stay on the show forever. When I'm done, I'll stop."

It'll be interesting to see how much the quirkiness factor jumps on "CI" when Jeff Goldblum joins the show next season.

SINGING FOR THE CHILDREN: Superhot jazz songstress Nnenna Freelon reports she's working on taking her Babysong Workshops to the next level on DVDs. "We've been talking about doing something interactive," says the five-time Grammy nominee, who's been taking the series of workshops she launched at Duke University Medical Center in 1990 to teach young mothers and health care providers the importance of the human voice for healing and nurturing to universities around the country.

"We can give moms and dads suggestions of what they can expose their babies to," says Freelon about her program that stresses the importance of singing to babies and small children to enhance brain development. "It will also encourage them to sing to their children. Sometimes we're a little shy if we're not singers, but it is so critical between birth and age three to expose them as much as possible to the natural world of voices. I tell my class to roll back the clock to the time you could remember hearing probably a mother or grandmother singing and to think about what first memories their children are going to remember."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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