CEA announces 2008 CES celeb lineup
Do you really think of Kevin Costner when you think about wireless communications?
The actor/director and his band performing at the CEA Wireless Communications Division reception is just one example of the curious intersection of tech and celebrity that will take place at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) January 7-10.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which puts on the show, announced on Friday a preliminary list of celebrity performances and appearances taking place throughout the week of CES.
Indy car driver Danica Patrick will be at the GoDaddy.com booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center, while Mad Mike from the MTV car show Pimp My Ride will be at the Mitek's booth.
John Lennon widow and artist Yoko Ono, Black Eyed Peas band member Will.i.am, and Pat Monahan from the band Train will be at the John Lennon Education Tour Bus event. Davis Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox will make an appearance at the Sharp booth, while filmmaker/actor Michael Douglas is scheduled to be at the Venetian hotel for the XStream HD press conference.
Singer Mary J. Blige will headline the Monster Cable concert at the Paris Hotel along with musician Sheila E. Prince is also "expected to be in attendance," according to a CEA statement.
CES is famous for its announced and unannounced appearances of big and small screen names. In 2006, actor Tom Cruise saved then-Yahoo CEO Terry Semel from an embarrassing demo glitch that prevented him from showing off the company's Go TV. Ellen DeGeneres spiced up Semel's keynote with jokes about her own tech foibles. That same year, actor Tom Hanks and filmmakers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer popped up at Sony's panel discussion on its HD filmmaking equipment.
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. 
