Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Is living nude the best revenge? Stephanie Seymour, the 41-year-old former supermodel and veteran of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, Victoria’s Secret catalogs, and, not least, two Playboy pictorials, would seem to be making that claim on these pages. (A protocol question: Is one still entitled to be addressed as a supermodel even after leaving office, like governors and secretaries of state?) Her marriage to Peter Brant, a wealthy businessman who resembles a taller, more dashing version of Buddy Hackett, must have seemed like something out of a fairy tale back in 1995, when they tied the knot in Paris and then settled into a comfortable life that included homes in Greenwich, Connecticut, the Hamptons, and Palm Beach. She was 26, he 48. 'He’s strong, intelligent, sensitive, and very masculine,' she purred while discussing her then fiancé with People magazine in 1994, on the occasion of her election as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. Brant cannot claim that level of renown, but his résumé is not shabby. In People’s words, he is 'the polo-playing owner of Interview, Antiques, and Art in America,' while a recent court filing reminds us that he is also 'a newsprint entrepreneur, an art collector, film producer, and owner/breeder of thoroughbred horses.' Oh dear. Did we say 'court filing'? Well, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Brant truly did have a fairy-tale marriage, or at least a fairy-tale divorce, because if you’ve recently read any fairy tales you know that they are unpleasant little narratives full of rage, jealousy, misbehavior, and vengeance." (Vanity Fair)



"'I don't usually wear a tux to go the movies!' laughed the dapper Colin Powell, arriving at the Cooper Square Hotel for the Cinema Society and Tommy Hilfiger's after-party for Precious. The legend missed the screening due to an official dinner, but he has imminent plans to catch it in theaters. 'Like everyone else, I've heard a lot about it,' said Quincy Jones, arriving a few minutes post-Powell. Those who did catch the film in the hotel's gleaming, comfy screening room--a new regular spot for the Cinema Society, one hopes--had plenty to discuss. 'Did you cry?' Andrew Saffir asked Donna Karan afterwards. 'Of course!' the designer responded, embracing the CS impresario. "I came here in waterproof mascara," said Kyra Sedgwick. 'I was ready for all the tears!'" (Fashionweekdaily)



(image via NYSD)

"Spotted: The most au courant stylist and his starlet (in that order) enjoying a soigne soiree. Last night was an evening for those in the young and fashionable social circles to be seen and talked about. The exclusive and deliciously chic Rooftop Club of The Gramercy Park Hotel was the setting. The occasion: the launch party for Eric Daman's new book, You Know You Want It: Style-Inspiration-Confidence ...Daman is the Emmy Award-winning costume designer and stylist behind the hugely popular television show Gossip Girl, which chronicles the feuds and trysts of fictional young, well-to-do New Yorkers.The luminary of the evening, the oft discussed Leighton Meester (who penned the introduction to Daman's book), is an exceptionally beautiful star ... The most entertaining relationship was between stylist and client. Meester and Daman's discreet smirks and giggles bespoke an almost familial relationshipn - sister and brother reunited." (NYSocialDiary)



"Darren James once led a busy life as a porn star. 'Sometimes it'd be 10 women in an orgy scene -- nonstop,' he said, talking about his career at its busiest. "And you work from eight in the morning to maybe eight at night. And that's one scene. All these women. Nonstop.' It was part of a job James did successfully for nearly eight years. Until he got the call all porn performers dread. 'I get that call,' he said, shaking his head. 'Everything stops. I had the virus. I'm like, whoa, what happened? This can't be happening to me. ... I thought I did everything right. And my whole world just crashed.' James learned he was HIV-positive in 2004. And he doesn't know, he said, how he got infected. 'I don't. There was just so many women pressed up in that short period of time,' he said. James passed the virus to co-workers, although 'not knowingly,' he said. 'I'd known three girls I'd infected and I knew them,' James said. 'They're nice people and I felt bad.' James' HIV infection shut down Southern California's porn industry for a month. When his identity as the original infection was made public, he says the isolation that followed drove him to attempt suicide. 'I know porn ain't the best business in the world, but it's all I had,' he said." (ABCNews)



"I see that my old friend Marc Rich has come clean in a book and admitted that he traded with the enemy and made billions in return. He would, wouldn’t he? About ten years ago, the then Spectator proprietor, Lord Black, had a fit against the poor little Greek boy when I wrote that Mossad had tipped off Rich not to fly privately to Spain because the Feds were planning to force down his plane and bring him back to justice in the States. Among some of the epithets he called me was Goebbels. Boris Johnson, then practising a much nobler profession as editor of the Speccie, defended me as best he could and I survived. Not that Lord Black wanted me fired, more likely suspended, like a naughty schoolboy caught talking in chapel. Now Taki has been justified. Once the Swiss refused to extradite him—I wonder why?—the Americans planned a snatch job by helicopter, landing in Zug, where the bum lives, but they backed off. My source is as good as it gets, and the plane job was on until Mossad, listening in on the American base in Italy, got wind of it ... Rich is, of course, unapologetic about a life in crime .. Some readers might remember that I ran into this rat in the garage of my chalet, of all places. He was staying with my next-door neighbour and that Marie Christine of Kent woman (a nice little groupetto). I shouted at him and told him he belonged in jail." (Takimag)

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"My news this morning that the daytime diva has decided to give up her syndicated talk show and move it to her namesake cable network OWN in 2011, amid Discovery Communications' demands that she 'move it or lose it', caught CBS by surprise. The Eye was counting on a 1- or 2-year renewal if The Oprah Winfrey Show which its CBS Television Distribution syndicates. 'In all honesty, we have not heard she's made a decision yet whether to continue,' an insider tells me. 'We think we're still in the talking stages. To our minds, it's a non-decision.' CBS had scheduled a face-to-face meeting a month ago with Oprah and her personal and professional posse at her Santa Barbara compound to discuss her plans. But one of the people in the close group of people around her passed away. So it was canceled, I've learned." (NikkiFinke)



"Madonna is prepared to grind hard to promote man-candy Jesus Luz's career. The pop superstar showed up to catch the tail end of her boyfriend's DJ gig at the DVD release party of Matt Tyrnauer's 'Valentino: The Last Emperor' on the 18th floor of the Standard Hotel. 'She was grinding with a bunch of hot fashion guys while Luz spun,' says a spy. 'She's been tak ing a more active role in promoting him, so she stuck around for a bit and mingled before they left together.' Madonna has already given her Brazilian boy-toy's modeling ca reer a push, helping him land a juicy contract with Dolce & Gabbana, although her rep insists she's 'not at all involved in managing the career of Jesus Luz.' Also in attendance were Adrian Brody, Charlie Rose, Diane von Furstenberg, Martha Stewart, Marc Jacobs, Katie Lee -- who was overheard discussing her new book of recipes in the elevator -- and Brian Grazer and his former 'culture czar' Brad Grossman." (PageSix)



"For the first time since the September 11 attacks, a court has charged and convicted former CIA officials and a military officer for their involvement in an alleged case of 'rendition,' a now-infamous procedure used to capture and question terrorism suspects. Following a months-long trial, for which none of the defendants were present, a Milan court today convicted 23 CIA operatives and one Air Force colonel in the kidnapping a Muslim cleric, who says he was later tortured in Egypt. The implications of the ruling range from banal to the profound. The CIA operatives and an Air Force officer can forget about spending the summer in Provence, or any European Union country for that matter. But more fundamentally, the case raises questions about diplomatic immunity and the ability of foreign courts to try U.S. officials in cases of supposed human rights and other abuses." (ForeignPolicy)



"Maybe Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige had a premonition. Or maybe he’s not much of a talent spotter. But a few years back, Miscavige apparently wasn’t keen on using writer-director Paul Haggis for a series of films based on treatments by the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. This was before Haggis, who made news recently with his angry renunciation of Scientology had back-to-back turns as an Oscar magnet in 2005 and 2006. (Haggis wrote and directed Crash and adapted the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby. Both won Best Picture.) Marc Headley worked in Scientology’s film-production studio from 1989 until 2005, when part of the mission was to come up with scripts for movies intended to introduce newcomers—'raw meat,' in church parlance—to the teachings of Scientology. Headley says his instructions were not to pursue Haggis as a writer. 'I was told he was not to be approached because he was a crappy TV writer who did Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes,' Headley recalls. 'The only other person I heard that about was Jenna Elfman.' Elfman is now the star of the CBS sitcom Accidentally on Purpose but this was before she had established her career on Dharma and Greg. 'David Miscavige kept rejecting her because he thought she looked like Linda Blair,' Headley says. 'Who wants to see The Exorcist in a Scientology movie?'" (TheDailyBeast)



"The financials always seemed a bit unhinged. Not only was I lucky enough to be paid, just a few years out of college, to think and write and opine for a few well-read magazines, I was encouraged to dine out as much as possible, and expense it — it was my job to capture the mood of what was hot around town. I remember a colleague who once prepared for a business trip by sending a company messenger over to a friend’s office to pick up an Ambien. In the early ’90s, editorial assistants at Condé Nast could get reimbursed for lunches they ate at their desks — and we did, right up to the $15 limit, sneaking in enough sushi to save for dinner. Some magazines were even documents of that particular literary, luxurious world, letting the reader peek into the tasteful Cobble Hill homes of the editors or read essays about the dilemma of a writer in love, a writer, of course, in New York. But what is lost, along with a lot of image packaging, is that expansive home for good writing. Philip Roth recently predicted, in The Guardian of London, that in 25 years, the number of people reading novels would be akin to the numbers now reading Latin poetry; it will be a curiosity, certainly not a profit center. This is painful gospel for anyone who reads Philip Roth, or other great writers, the way other people read religious texts — to make sense of the world, to be humbled or inspired by the power of language." (NYTimes)

Last Night's Blip TV Bash



It was shoulder-to-shoulder last night at the crowded Blip.TV bash at Mocca Lounge, located at 78 Reade Street (at Church). "Lists were put aside and the doormen were asked to smile so that all that arrived for the event were welcomed without any hassle at the door, staying consistent with the platform of the blip.tv philosophy," reads today's press release about the event. Very democratic, that. I met my favorite socialites Nichelle Stephens and Matt Caldecutt, enjoying Bulldog gin cocktails and hors d'oeuvres nestled in one of Mocca's leess crowded areas. "Someone important might actually take your picture," kidded Matt. He's right, of course; I get invited to a lot of these things, but I don't nearly do enough legwork and attend and report. Also attending were Richard Blakeley of Gawker, Joe Ciarallo of Media Bistro, Andrea Chalupa of Huffington Post/AOL, Peter Feld, and Natan Edelsburg of Globalquad.com.

What Happened Last Night?



My, what a long, strange trip it's been. So -- what the fuck happened last night? Last night the moderates won, no matter how the Republican wingnuts spin things. Nothing reflects this fact more than the results of NY23 -- the only nationalized race of the night. From John Judis in TNR:

"The Club for Growth alone spent $340,000 running ads for Hoffman. With their backing, Hoffman pushed Scozzafava out of the race. She lacked funds or impassioned followers. But Hoffman and his supporters misjudged the district. When Scozzafava endorsed Owens, many of those who would have voted for her backed Owens, and he won the race. Upstate New York, which used to be solidly Republican, now boasts a single conservative congressman. New York, like New England, has become solidly Democratic.

"If the results of New York’s 23rd are placed alongside those of New Jersey and Virginia, there is a clear lesson for the Republicans. In New Jersey and Virginia, the gubernatorial candidates ran to the center. Christie is a moderate, and McDonnell at least pretended to be. And as a result, they got the swing vote of independents and moderates. In New York-23, a diehard conservative backed by rightwing groups repudiated the center and lost to a neophyte Democratic candidate who probably could not have beaten Scozzafava in a one-to-one contest."

Sarah Palin, who, arguably, had a lot to lose was one of the night's big losers. She was the posterchild for Hoffman. And Palin's pony in New York's 23rd district fell to the Democrat for the first time since the American Civil War.

Nice strategy. Still, the fact that Sarah Palin's imprimatur of the Conservative Party candidate may have been the proximate cause of the actual Republican candidate dropping out is quite something. Astonishing, really. Within the Republican Party -- and, though we won't admit it, among the Chattering Classes (Barbara, Oprah)-- Palin has what can only be properly construed as "the rib-busting ox-strength" (tm). I say this because despite her political influence, Sarah Palin is barely literate. She could not even write her own biography. And Palin's speeches are logic-free zones festooned with cliches, sports metaphors, military "tough guy" references and appeals to the basest of gut instinct (Averted Gaze). Palin speaks a language of disgusting voodoo.

But enough of Palin.

The lack of will among New Yorkers, who are supposed to have Herculean reserves of that stuff, was another of the evening's great stories. Michael Bloomberg won despite the ceiling to his popularity because he broke the trust of New Yorkers over term limits. He bought the election and was aided by incumbency, low voter turnout and a lackluster candidate who didn't really "pop" till late in the campaign. But that, of course, is no excuse for New Yorkers.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"The morning after an unusually interesting and closely watched set of off-year elections, the air is filled with the sounds of Republicans gloating, Democrats fretting, and the White House saying, in effect, 'Move along, everyone, move along, there’s nothing to see here.' None of these reactions are surprising in the least, for even with New York’s 23rd congressional district having delivered Barack Obama and his party a nice consolation prize, the GOP victories in Virginia and New Jersey — and, more important, what voters in those states told exit pollsters about their attitudes — made it a very good night for the out party, and that laid bare a number of realities that are troubling indeed for Democrats. The most obvious of those are three: First, the degree of anxiety about the economy remains sky-high in every segment of the electorate. Second, independent voters swung dramatically away from the Democrats and toward the Republicans. And third, the Obama base (especially the young voters) stayed home in droves." (NYMag)



"The rich, as Fitzgerald once said, are not like you and me. Billionaires are perhaps even less so. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's receipt from Nello's in New York City is making the rounds. It is a significant cultural artifact worth deconstructing. We learn, for example, that Roman spent more on a meal--$52,000 for a party of six --than median household income in the United States. The most expensive items on the receipt were wine and truffles." (Ron Mwangaguhunga/AirAmerica)



(image via nytimes)

"Monday I had lunch at Michael’s as the guest of Luziah Ismail-Hennessy, who is the Chairman of the Auction Committee. Also joining us were Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck, Xavier Guerrand-Hermes and Jean-Christophe Laizeau. Mr. Laizeau is the International Communication Director for Ruinart Champagne. Ruinart is part of the LVMH conglomerate. Mrs. Hennessy is married to Mr. Hennessy (or Monsieur Hennessy) of Moet-Hennessy. You still with me? Mme. Hennessy is a very attractive Asian woman whose English is international in inflection. She has a very charming manner, like silk rippling in the breeze. She is also smart and gracious and very European in her delivery. And all the while business-like. I was totally charmed. Mr. Guerrand Hermes is a member of that family. Did you know that Hermes only has one brief sale a year and then what’s left is offered to their employees at another sale price, and then what’s left of that is burned ... Count von Bismarck is the grandson of the Iron Chancellor after whom the famous battleship was named." (NYSocialDiary)



"If we are to understand where we are, we must understand where we have been. This is particularly true if we are to escape from the huge fiscal deficits being run by many governments. These deficits are not the result of government stupidity; they are mainly a consequence of – and response to – private behaviour. We must not ignore this connection. The difference between domestic savings and investment equals the current account of the balance of payments (itself the inverse of the capital account). Domestic savings and investment can be divided, in turn, between private sector and government. Private, government and foreign balances must sum to zero. But it is still possible to ask how they do so and, in particular, what behaviour drives the specific patterns and levels of activity we see. In the present crisis, asking that question is particularly revealing." (FT)



"Larry Summers is not an easy man to catch off guard. Behind his rumpled, jowly, professorial façade hides the world’s shiniest gold-plated résumé and one of its fiercest intellects. No less an authority on presidential power than Henry Kissinger once told Tim Geithner, now the Treasury secretary, that Summers should have a permanent job at the White House, solely to sort out for the president—any president—the good ideas on economic policy from the dumb ones. When Barack Obama was elected, many thought that Summers, who headed Treasury during the final 18 months of the Clinton administration, would find his way back to that post. But inside the Beltway, Summers’s connections to New York hedge funds and his rocky tenure as the president of Harvard University, from 2001 to 2006, were of concern, and it was decided that Geithner, Summers’s former colleague at Treasury and the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (a job he got in 2003 with Summers’s help), would be more easily confirmed by the Senate. But since Geithner goes back some 10 years or more with Summers and seems to think five minutes with Summers is worth an hour of most other people’s time, there is little evidence that Summers lacks for influence in his current post as director of the White House’s National Economic Council." (VF)



"'I can never refuse a party with my closest friends,' said Valentino last night at the space formerly known as the Boom Boom Room. (Will someone rename this joint already?) 'So when you're on top of New York in a gorgeous space with beautiful people, it just makes me smile. And I love smiling!' He wasn't the only one. The Standard Hotel was overrun with A-listers last night as Val, Giancarlo Giammetti and Carlos Souza threw an impromptu little bash with, oh, Madonna and other assorted intimates. Aspiring spin doctor Jesus Luz was hard at work turntabling. 'I've become used to this whole DJ thing,' he confessed as Marjorie Gubelmann angled in for a beatific photo op--one of many. 'I just did a tour in Brazil, so you can say I warmed up for this well.'" (Fashionweekdaily)



"Jon Bon Jovi kissed Ann Curry on the cheek. It was a chilly morning in mid-October outside the Today studios at Rockefeller Plaza. Ms. Curry was wearing a peacoat and dark stockings. Mr. Bon Jovi had on jeans and aviator sunglasses. Matt Lauer stood between them. They had news! Mr. Lauer explained to the guests on the plaza and the viewers at home that, henceforth, Mr. Bon Jovi would be serving as the first artist in NBC’s brand new 'artist in residence' program. 'What does that exactly mean?' asked Mr. Lauer. The rock star smiled. 'A corner office next to you,' he replied. Mr. Bon Jovi went on to explain that his eponymous band had a new album to sell and that for the next two months he would be appearing (exclusively!) on a wide range of NBC broadcast and cable channels to promote it. Along the way, he would be hosting Saturday Night Live, doing sports, doing news, basking in James Lipton’s marveling gaze on Inside the Actors Studio and playing a concert for Today at Rockefeller Plaza. Not to mention, performing at various birthday parties for the children of NBC staffers, joked Mr. Lauer." (Observer)



"Though Katalyst Media -- the three-pronged film, television, and digital media production company Ashton Kutcher spearheads with partner Jason Goldberg -- might still be finding its footing in some ventures (The Katalyst-produced CW series The Beautiful Life was canceled in September after just two episodes), its digital media department has found huge success as the first producers to make serialized, branded content exclusively for Facebook. Katalyst HQ, the company's original video series broadcast on the social media site, consists of three-minute clips that follow Office-esque faux documentary plots starring Katalyst Media employees, with branding for companies like Hot Pockets and Cheetos integrated through out. All of the episodes incorporate familiar workplace themes with a humorous slant -- one features a Katalyst worker who falls in love with an associate's 'phone voice,' another shows employees pitching bizarre plot ideas for a new Kutcher film to a frustrated Goldberg. Now in its second season, the series has been viewed by over nine million Facebook users who have shared the content over 62 times each. In other words, it's popular." (Papermag)

Sue Shapiro At The New School



What are you doing Friday? Want to meet 8 fantastic shrinks and 8 amazingly brilliant editors & agents coming as guest stars to my friend Susan Shapiro's last NYC free Speed Shrinking party Friday 11/6 at 7-9 pm at the New School, 55 W. 13th St. 2nd floor. It's for charity, desserts by The Cupcake Tree and it'll be filmed by 2 TV crews! Read my review of Speed Shrinking. More info profsue123@aol.com

Election Day 2009



There are some interesting races going on today in the off-year. Not the Virginia race, of course, which is a foregone conclusion. There is an interesting Washington Post story -- disputed by legendary conservative Democrat operative "Mudcat" Sanders -- blaming Deeds for not listening to the Obama machine (who won the state in 2008). Whatever the case, the Virginia statehouse was like the diamond of the Democrat Party. The fact that they lost it -- or didn't rally around it strongly enough -- will, no doubt, be examined at Wagnerian length tonight by the talking heads.

The New Jersey race, in particular, should be interesting. From Politico:

"There are about 730,000 more registered Democrats than there are Republicans in the Garden State. And last fall, thanks to President Obama, the number of new voters surged on Election Day. But polls indicate Corzine is having trouble rousing his own party this year.


"'It’s a very different election than last year,' said Rep. Bill Pascrell, a veteran New Jersey Democrat. 'Last year, people came out. They didn’t have to be pushed. This year, they’re a little reluctant. Times are bad, the economy is not doing very well.'


"Both campaigns and independent observers expect turnout statewide to be about 48 percent to 49 percent. That means at or just above 2.3 million votes.


"If it’s less than that, Corzine could be in trouble as it will most likely mean unhappy, or just plain uninterested, Democrats are staying home.

"'If turnout dips below 47 percent, it’s minorities not showing up,' said Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray.

"To win, Corzine also needs to push the percentage of the electorate that is made up of minority groups above 20 percent.

"It almost surely won’t reach the 27 percent that Obama enjoyed last year, but if it’s even a few percentage points above 20 percent, Corzine has got a strong chance to win."

Who would want to be Governor anyway (aside from those looking to launch a Presidential or Vice Presidential campaign). Most statehouses are broke. An incoming Governor will have to pull whole economies with vanishing manufacturing sectors out of the red. In a sense I cannot think of another situatuion that would recommend such a perennial candidate like Jerry Brown -- perhaps the only man with the experience to save California and navigate their labyrinthine politics.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a mystery to me. His various party switches are completely unpredictable. he has been, in due course, a Democrat, republican and Independent. He has spent $100 million-plus for an urban mayroalty. Granted, NYC mayor is not just a Mayoralty, but still. Bloomberg had a clear shot at New york's Governor -- a better vantage point to view the Whitte House. But he didn't take it. I have no idea what this man wants.

Another race to watch is NY's 23rd district. Dede Scozzafava, who was the Republican nominee, was vilified by the right wingnuts -- Sarah Palin campaigned for her Conservative party opponent -- and literally had to drop out. Since then, she has endorsed the Democrat. According to Politico, the White House and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee coordinated efforts to get Scozzafava's endorsement. Congressman Steve Israel, according to the story, had a face-to-face meeting with Scozzafava in her upstate New York district after she suspended her campaign. Scozzafava, having faced a contentious race against the wingnuts of the right who decided that the Republican party nominee was too liberal, was amenable to the request from the Democratic party.

Steven Colbert To Sponsor The U.S. Speedskating Team At Vancouver Olympics

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sport Report - NYC Marathon & Olympic Speedskating
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Religion

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"STUNNING Stephanie Seymour will have to get by on just $270,000 a month -- at least until her nasty divorce from polo-playing pony breeder Peter Brant is finalized. A Connecticut judge ordered Brant to start coughing up the dough last week. According to the Con necticut Post, the court also cited his continued fury over his wife's thorough bred spending habits. Brant, who nets an estimated $1.55 million a month, has com plained he can't fathom why Seymour pays retail at Berg dorf's, when she could get by with discounted duds from family pal Azzedine Alaia." (NYPost)



"Obama’s thinking on Afghanistan began from a sound premise. He said that President Bush was right to be pursuing al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where it was, and wrong to switch resources to Iraq, where it wasn’t, at a time when capturing or killing Osama bin Laden was still feasible in Afghanistan. But saying the withdrawal of troops was a mistake does not mean that sending more troops in, with a different mission in a different time, is a good idea. Unfortunately, Obama seems to work from his campaign rhetoric into a frame of thought that makes Afghanistan a good idea because Iraq was a bad idea. We are now trying to prop up a corrupt government in a country with a drug economy that breeds faction, crime, and resentment at our interference. There is a larger fallacy at work—that the only way to fight terrorists is to attack countries that do or might give them a base. Modern terrorists do not need to have a country for a base. The bombers in Spain and England did not need to have a Middle Eastern base for their action. Modern terrorists are mobile and can spring up anywhere. They must be sought with cooperative police work around the world, not by armies taking over foreign nations. Terrorism is a crime, not a country. It breaks my heart to see Obama creating his very own Vietnam." (Gary Wills/TheDailyBeast)



"Nigella Lawson has arrived at last. In a poll of the hottest ladies of the moment in the lesbian magazine DIVA, the domestic goddess has come in at number five, only a few places behind the front runners, Pink and Angelina Jolie. 'I am flattered beyond words,' says Nigella. Let's hope Charles Saatchi doesn't get jealous of all the female attention." (Thisislondon)



"In interviews over the years with people born to wealthy families, I have heard many stories from adult men and women who, while looking back, can remember incidents from their adolescence that in one way or another informed them about family money. However, almost all of these memories trace back no further than middle school, or roughly age 12. Questions about times preceding this period in life generally remained unanswered. Impressions that play a role in determining status, though, certainly must begin to arrive much sooner. Not too long ago, I heard an anecdote about a six-year-old who, in the middle of dancing around her parent’s living room at a cocktail party, announced to guests that she wanted her father to buy the Boston Garden so she could play there with friends. Only a few days beforehand, the family had attended a performance for children at the venue, and it clearly had made an impact. The wish of the child to own the place wasn’t a product of arrogance; it was more of a naïve hope that flashed across a whimsical, juvenile mind. And it isn’t so hard to understand where the notion came from. A child of social position becomes accustomed early on to the expectation that people will purchase objects of desire. A young mentality gets shaped quickly in this way." (Jamie Johnson/ VanityFair)



"Fifteen years after Arsenio Hall signed off the air, late-night TV is once again making room for hosts who aren't white men. Fox on Saturday launches a weekly showcase for African-American comic Wanda Sykes. Next week, George Lopez becomes the first Latino to host a nightly late-night comedy series on a major network when his 'Lopez Tonight' premieres on TBS. And last month saw the arrival of 'The Mo'Nique Show' on BET. Is this the Obamafication of the late-night wars? 'It may have to do with the fact that we have a black president,' said Eddie Feldman, executive producer of 'The Wanda Sykes Show.' In the past, 'I had been out (in the TV marketplace) at different times with different comedians of color, and you'd go in and say, 'There's nobody of color on now in late night,' and it didn't get a lot of attention from the networks,' Feldman said. 'I do think that it's because of President Obama, that maybe the networks started saying, 'Well, OK, we might need to get into this business.' Michael Wright, who heads up programming for the Turner networks (including TBS), agrees there's something happening here. But rather than looking at Obama's election as the reason for the changes in late night, he's hoping they're both signs of a broader societal evolution. 'I would like to think they're a reflection of a cultural shift that's going on,' he said. 'That maybe, please, we're all growing up and becoming a bit more open-minded and more inclusive.'" (TheWrap)



(Hamish Bowles via Todd Eberle)

"The Polaroids that fashion designer Stephen Sprouse took of his friends in his heyday look a lot like the scene at Allison Sarofim's '1980s downtown New York City'-themed party last weekend at the socialite's West Village home. Partygoers were decked out in everything from Day-Glo, graffiti-print outfits (Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone) to Keith Haring–inspired fashions, to a very convincing Tama Janowitz getup. Even Interview-magazine veterans Bob Colacello and Glen O'Brien were there—in person. Herewith, a sampling of the ensembles that Vanity Fair photographer Todd Eberle captured at the Halloween party of the year." (VF)



"I went down to the New York City Library in the Stephen Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue for the annual Library Lions gala benefit. The New York Public Library is one of the most important institutions not only in the city, but for the country and the American culture ... That said, the annual Library Lions dinner is the biggest and the mostest of the Library’s copious events. It is their fund-raiser of fund-raisers, and last night they took in $2.7 million .. David Monn and Gayfryd Steinberg always decorate this evening. Because Monn has become a very prominent events designer in his own right, I asked Mrs. Steinberg last night what her contribution was. She told me she filled all the breadbaskets on all the tables ... About eight o’clock the crowd began moving in for dining and the program. I saw Mort Janklow, the legendary literary agent who told me that seat to which he was assigned turned out to be the same chair in which he sat for weeks and months as a kid writing his thesis, which was on Propaganda and its effects. It was there, at that chair, in this great room, that he read the 23 volumes of Goebbels diaries, and where young Janklow witnessed firsthand through the written word, the art of the Big Lie." (NYSocialDiary)



"Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire is a movie of many textures, each one illuminating the emotionally gripping narrative at its core. Lee Daniels directs with bold strokes that could go wrong at any moment, but generally serve to illuminate a troubled life and the justified desire to escape it. The story of a troubled Harlem teen named Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) impregnated by her absent father, 'Precious' progresses with a steadily engaging series of starts and stops in the frayed world of its talented star. While fending off her dysfunctional mother (Monique, in a stunningly psychotic turn), Precious gradually learns to surpass her aimless fantasies and come to grips with the troubles at hand. Using lavishly photographed sequences, Daniels contrasts Precious’s daily woes with the happier existence inside her head, but these moments gradually give way to the protagonist’s fulfillment of her actual goals. Moved to an alternative school to meet her special needs, Precious learns from more caring adults (including Mariah Carey as a trenchant social worker) about her obvious potential to mature. A spunky character with an increasing ability to editorialize about her new environment ('they talk like TV channels I don’t watch,' she says of her newfound mentors), Precious makes the ideal heroine of modern times. 'Precious' does not function exclusively as a story of race, but as a universal depiction of real world struggle. The only question is whether distributors can push themselves to get it out there." (IndieWIRE)



"Despite the fact that there are two high powered gubernatorial races up for grabs on Tuesday, New York's 23rd district appears to be the one to watch on election night. Joe Scarborough and former Governor George Pataki have also made--and Tweeted about--appearances in the district. Dede Scozzafava, the Republican nominee who dropped out of the race, is backing Democrat Bill Owens. Politico reports that high-ranking national Democrats started working on Dede Scozzafava to secure that endorsement immediately after she dropped out of the race on Saturday. Is this some genius plan of David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel?" (Ron Mwangaguhunga/AirAmerica)



"At last night's 13th Annual ACE Awards, the Accessories Council honored a fashion icon who's made of plastic (Barbie) and a performer (Lady Gaga) who showed up in headwear that resembled an oversized cotton ball. Those trendsetting blondes were a couple of the more unconventional stars of an event devoted to recognizing the most influential forces in the world of handbags, hats, sunglasses, and—in the words of Accessory Visionary Award winner Diane von Furstenberg—other 'friends you can carry with you and they make you feel better' ..TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie waltzed in with Erin Wasson on his arm and a pair of exotic slip-ons on his feet. 'They are absolutely, 100 percent fake zebra,' he assured us ... Gaga made a vow on behalf of her style team—'We will never do a line; we are not an economy'—and closed the proceedings with an unexpected fashion tip: 'The most important fashion accessory is the condom.'" (Style)



"In the age of the Verified Account, we expect our celebrities and media personalities to be on Twitter. It’s not only the quickest and easiest way for them to reach their audiences, but sometimes it provides us a small window into the minutiae of their everyday lives. 'Famous people, they’re just like us!' we like to think when Martha Stewart’s dog pees in the house or Oprah says she’s tired. But that’s not why it’s a category on our Power Grid. There’s also business. We know who’s going to be on television and when, we click links and witness debate — all in 140 characters, of course. Disparate uses of the service are to be expected; new media must be tried, twisted and broken before its function is decided and opinions vary as much as usage. Maybe to you, Shaq’s frequent inanities are hilarious or maybe they’re a waste of time. Maybe Ana Marie Cox’s links are educational or maybe they’re boring. But to make that judgement, thousands — and in some cases millions! — are pressing 'follow.'" (Mediaite)



(image via Jill Krementz via NYSD)

"I also read Russell Baker’s review of Ted Kennedy’s autobiography in the New York Review of Books. Many of us grew up under the Kennedys’ lights. They dominated the political and celebrity scene for a generation of Americans, and then some. I also grew up in Massachusetts where they were well known before Jack went to the White House, although not in the same bright light. At that time the Kennedys were still regarded plainly as Irish-Catholics, which meant Not Quite Our Class by ruling WASP social establishment ... It was also true that almost everyone I know who actually knew the man, including those who knew him for decades, or even met the man, had a lot of respect and often great affection for the way he’d carried on the family name, as its patriarch and in public service. And there were others who also experienced him and were not kind about him. Women, that is. Baker says Teddy showed no signs in his book of being introspective, which is never surprising for people with so much physical energy. The last time I saw him was about ten years ago. It was on a Saturday afternoon in the summertime at the Bathing Corporation where he’d come with his sister to lunch. He was massively overweight, sweating and bilious, yet wearing shorts which were almost not big enough for all that excess. He looked very uncomfortable in his stride although he moved along quickly like a man on a mission. Reading Baker’s excellent review of the book, I realized that the Kennedys as we have known them – that astonishingly glamorous and vigorous (Jack’s word) American family, have now all left us with the exception of the youngest sister – although older than Teddy -- Jean Kennedy Smith." (NYSocialDiary)



"Tycoon Sol Kerzner today picked up a (USD $24 million) party bill after London's glitterati flew to Morocco to launch his latest hotel. Guests drank more than 5,000 bottles of Dom Perignon and Veuve Clicquot in the London-based businessman's third hotel opening of the year. After similar multi-million-pound spectacles in Dubai and Cape Town, the spotlight fell on Morocco's (USD $453 million) Mazagan Beach Resort, where Kerzner was joined by 1,500 guests including Naomi Campbell, Yasmin and Simon Le Bon, Natascha McElhone, Lisa Snowdon, Donna Air and Lindsay Lohan. He laid on 100,000 Moroccan roses for the night, which included having specially trained monkeys hand a single flower to each of the female guests. Other entertainments included a firework display, snake charmers, belly dancers and tarot-card readers. Ms Campbell, who flew to Casablanca for just a few hours with her billionaire boyfriend Vladslav Doronin, said: 'It's such a romantic place, the perfect place to be in love.'" (Thisislondon)



"We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we couldn’t be more pumped for Sylvester Stallone’s all-star action extravaganza, The Expendables. If you’ve been tracking this pecs-pumping, pyrotechnics-palooza with us, then you’re already hip to the summer 2010 film’s hulking, Who’s Who he-man cast (Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, etc.). You’ve also seen the early photos of a tattooed and totally ripped Stallone and heard that Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger would drop by for cameo appearances, pretty much cementing the film as a one-stop shopping site for ’80s blow-’em-up blockbuster lovers." (Popwatch)