Jimmy Buffett has been playing around with the music-streaming service Spotify, which recently became available in the US, and a couple weeks ago he visited their New York City office:

“I’ll tell you who did pop by last week and wanted to spend a couple of hours there–a very famous American performer, Jimmy Buffett,” Spotify investor Shakil Khan told Betabeat. Mr. Khan, known as “Shak” to his friends, was on the phone from London, but discussing Spotify’s new base in New York (in a charmingly posh British accent, we might add). ”Being based in the UK, I didn’t know who Jimmy Buffett was, but everyone was telling me margaritas and Hawaiian shirts and stuff,” added Mr. Khan, a serial entrepreneur who also works as Spotify’s head of special projects and advisor to founder Daniel Ek.

So how did a cutting-edge company like Spotify meet the Ur-chillaxer? “Jimmy’s people reached out to me a couple of weeks ago going, ‘Jimmy’s been playing around with Spotify and really likes it.’ I sent an email around to the staff saying any Jimmy Buffett fans in the house? Half the people were like, ‘Oh my god, do you know about Jimmy Buffett?!’ I said, shall we invite him up? He met some of the devs and they showed him some of the cool stuff that we’re working on. It was a great vibe because half the staff actually wore Hawaiian shirts the day he came in, which really made his day. He was like, ‘Wow you guys are really into what I’ve been preaching all these years.’”

Betabeat was still curious about how Jimmy Buffett had even heard of Spotify, all the way from Margaritaville. “I think one of his people in LA had been using it and said to him, ‘Hey Jimmy, you need to check this out.’ The first time you try it, you go, it can’’t be possible: How can you play music quicker on the internet than music on the hard drive? Obviously Jimmy is very savvy and business-minded and said this is where it’s headed, ‘I really want to know who uses this, what the ecosystem’s like.’ We had a great conversation. He embraces technology. He’s really into the future.”

On Thursday in Houston a ceremony was held for space shuttle workers commemorating the end of the shuttle era, and Jimmy Buffett (presumably via recorded message) was one of the celebrities who offered up their thanks:

“We’re here to celebrate an incredible 30-year run,” NASA Administrator and former shuttle astronaut Charles Bolden said, addressing the thousands of JSC workers and their families who came out for the “Salute Our Space Shuttle: Foundation for Our Future” celebration. “All of you need to leave here tonight with your chest stuck out as proud as you can be because we have done something that no one else was ever able to do and no one will ever do again.”

In addition to Bolden, the event included tributes delivered both in-person and by video from space shuttle program managers, astronauts and celebrities. Representatives of the Houston Astros and Aeros sports teams, actor Seth Green, singer Jimmy Buffett, Sesame Street’s Elmo and late night talk show host Jay Leno all offered their thanks for the shuttle.

“Thank you for your dedication, your inspiration and vision on the incredible space shuttle program,” Leno said in a video recorded from the set of “The Tonight Show.” “For over 30 years, you guys have amazed and educated, opened our eyes to the wonders of space travel and the benefits brought to our everyday lives.”

Jimmy was in attendance at the final space shuttle launch back in July. After the launch he played a show for shuttle workers outside of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

A recent poll by the Palm Beach Post asked residents to name their favorite Palm Beach icon and Jimmy Buffett came in third.

Who is your favorite iconic Palm Beach County person? — came down to three men: The Golden Bear, the Bandit and the Man from Margaritaville.

In the end, the Bear won out.

Jack Nicklaus won the Taking Your Pulse poll for favorite local icon with 30 percent of the vote. More than 1,700 votes were cast, making this the second most popular poll so far.

Burt Reynolds ended up in second place at 15.8 percent, while Jimmy Buffett took third at 10.3 percent.

Rounding out the top five are comic Larry The Cable Guy at 3.9 percent and radio personality Rush Limbaugh at 3.7 percent.

The final flight of the space shuttle program is set for this morning (weather permitting), and Jimmy Buffett is in attendance:

What can bring United States Attorney General Eric Holder, Geraldo Rivera and Kevin Sorbo, TV’s “Hercules,” together? While it may sound like a wacky new reality show, it’s actually NASA’s last-ever space shuttle launch.

The shuttle Atlantisis slated to blast off today (July 8th) at 11:26 a.m. EDT (1526 GMT) on the shuttle program’s final mission. NASA is retiring the iconic vehicles after 30 years of spaceflight to concentrate on sending astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit to an asteroid and Mars.

Celebrities of widely varying star power are coming out to witness the historic event, according to NASA’s VIP guest list. Holden and Sorbo are expected to attend, for example. So are Florida Governor Rick Scott and motivational speaker Vernice “Fly Girl” Armour. Gloria Estefan and Jimmy Buffett are other notable names on the list, too.

A couple weeks ago Jimmy Buffett filed papers to trademark the term “Tiger Blood” for use in vodka and energy drinks, but now Charlie Sheen is fighting back on the phrase that he coined:

Charlie Sheen is challenging veteran entertainer Jimmy Buffett’s attempts to create a drink called Tiger Blood – the actor has filed his own trademark application to take ownership of the phrase he coined last month

Bosses at Buffett’s company, Margaritaville Enterprises Llc, decided to try and cash in on Sheen’s rants and antics by proposing formal plans for a Tiger Blood tipple for use in vodka.

But Sheen is trying to prevent others from benefiting from his publicity and his representatives at associated firm Hyro-gliff have now filed their own trademark documents to gain the right to the name, after learning of Buffett’s idea in March.

“Tiger blood” is among 22 of Sheen’s most famous quotes and catchphrases the actor is seeking to protect, including, “Duh, winning” and “rock star from Mars”. The actor wants to use the quotes for potential projects including clothing, food, drinks and video games.

According to the National Journal, Florida Democrats are reaching out to Jimmy Buffett hoping he’ll help get out the vote in the state ahead of Tuesday’s election:

Florida Democratic sources tell National Journal that Sink’s campaign, panicked by what it considered an alarming advantage for Republicans in early vote totals so far, on Wednesday called Florida’s senior Senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, to seek his help in bringing Buffett into the mix. Nelson then called former Senate colleague, Bob Graham, to reach out to Buffett. Graham has been personal friends with Buffett since the early 1980s and it was Graham’s relationship with Buffett that brought him into state Democratic politics when Graham was governor. Graham called Buffett Thursday and asked him to do as many events as possible on Monday, election eve. Buffett said his schedule prevented that, but he is considering some involvement in get-out-the-vote efforts this weekend, Democratic sources said.

Earlier this month Jimmy played a fundraiser for gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink.

Jimmy Buffett makes an appearance in a recent cartoon published in the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger:

On Saturday morning, Jimmy Buffett joined Florida Governor Charlie Crist in Pensacola to tour the beaches that are beginning to feel the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf.

He took a walk Saturday along the beach with Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist and noted that his favorite memories of the area are of sunsets in the fall.

He says he wants people in the area to know that he’s there for them. He says if he’s good for anything, it’s “helping people forget their troubles for a couple of hours.”

He says the people of the Florida Panhandle will get through the crisis together.

TampaBay.com also has an article on today’s visit that gives an opening date for the Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Pensacola:

Appearing Saturday morning at Pensacola Beach with Buffett, Crist said keeping more oil off the shoreline is “the utopian objective.” He said he’ll continue to press for more oil-containment booms.

“We’re going to ask, and ask, and ask,” Crist said.

Buffett, whose Margaritaville hotel is due to open June 24 in Pensacola Beach, planned to accompany Crist on a helicopter flight over the beach to view the oil.

Buffett said he hoped people would still visit the beach. He suggested that visitors could “come down and help clean up the beach rather than just lie around and soak up the sun.”

(photo Paul Flemming)

Update – Tampa Bay Online has more:

“I thought I could lend a hand and tell people that the sky is not falling,” the singer-songwriter said this morning. “I’m always an optimist. Handle a crisis and go on.”

Buffett insisted that the uncertainty over how bad the Gulf of Mexico gusher will get in Florida won’t affect his first foray into the hotel business. His Margaritaville Beach Hotel is set to open July 1 on the site of a Holiday Inn wiped out by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

“We’re going to be open for business come hell or high water,” said Buffett, his words almost sounding like a song. “We go through hardships in life. People in the Panhandle are a tough people. We go clean it up and we get on with our lives.”

His appearance with the governor created quite the scene. People stopped him – Buffett, not Crist – for an autograph and to pose for pictures. Several thanked Buffett for what he’s doing on the Emerald Coast with his hotel.

“God bless him for being here,” Crist said.

Buffett said he planned to be in town for a job fair today at the hotel, where earlier 1,000 people showed up to apply for 40 positions. He joked about not knowing how many rooms the place has, saying he’s only been involved in the project for the past six weeks and hasn’t had time to count them all. He said he was trying to make sure the hotel had all the cool things, such as a Ping-Pong table.

“This was always my first Florida. Pensacola Beach is the first pretty water you see,” he said. “I thought we should have a place up here. It’s kind of my back yard.”

“This is an environmental disaster that nobody asked for,” Buffett said. “I’m not satisfied with the way that BP has handled anything. I am pissed off, but what are you going to do about it?”

More photos from today:

Chris Urso / Tampa Bay Online

George Skene / Orlando Sentinel

AP Photo / Michael Spooneybarger

AP Photo / Michael Spooneybarger

Brandon Kruse / The Palm Beach Post

Brandon Kruse / The Palm Beach Post

AP Photo / Michael Spooneybarger

Jimmy Buffett and his wife Jane were on hand in New York City on Monday night at an event to mark the achievements of actor Michael Douglas:

[Douglas] was awarded the 37th annual Chaplin Award by the Film Society of Lincoln Centre for his work both in front of the camera as an actor and behind the scenes as a producer.

And, in an poignant moment, he was presented the coveted award by his father, acting legend Kirk Douglas who is 93 years of age.

The Film Society’s Annual Gala began in 1972 and honoured Charles Chaplin, who returned to the US from exile to accept the commendation.

Since then, the award was renamed for Chaplin, and has honoured many of the film industry’s most notable talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep and most recently, Tom Hanks.

Guest presenters included friends and previous collaborators such as Steven Soderbergh, Tobey Maguire, Danny DeVito, Erika Christensen and Barbara Walters.

A special music performance [was] provided by singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, a long-time friend of Douglas, who also performed at the actor’s wedding to Catherine Zeta Jones.

Read the full story here.

Jimmy with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1999.
Photo: Dave Allocca/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

The show was back on the road Saturday night as Jimmy and the band began the Under The Big Top Tour with a performance at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida.

Notable additions to the set list this year include “Knees of My Heart,” “Frank and Lola,” “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’s Me,” “Big Top” and others. “Tin Cup Chalice” finished things off. Buffett also added Mac McAnally’s song “Back Where I Come From,” which Kenny Chesney has made popular over the years.

View the entire set list here.

In a first for Buffett, portions of the show were streamed live on ustream.tv (part of the soundcheck was streamed earlier in the day too).

Update – The videos have been removed from the Big Top Tour ustream channel. You may only be able to watch live streaming in the future.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board.

The Under The Big Top Tour will continue Tuesday with a show in Atlanta, GA. You can still get your tickets now!