A Little of the Old In and Out

In: Bloggers. Daniel Radosh writes in this week's New Yorker: "Two years from now�give or take�Elizabeth Spiers, the founding editor of the gossip Web sites Gawker and The Kicker, will publish her first novel. Around the same time, Glenn Reynolds, who writes the political Web log Instapundit, will also have a book in stores. So, too, may writers from the blogs Hit and Run, The Black Table, Dong Resin, Zulkey, Low Culture, Lindsayism, Megnut, Maud Newton, MemeFirst, Old Hag, PressThink, I Keep a Diary, Buzz Machine, Engadget, and Eurotrash. Suddenly, books by bloggers will be a trend, a cultural phenomenon. You will probably read about it in the Sunday Times. And when that happens the person to thank�or blame�will be Kate Lee, who is currently a twenty-seven-year-old assistant at International Creative Management."

To this, Gawker writes, "Anyway, guess we'll find out when Kate sells her first book. Ah, the hype before the storm.

"Wait -- doesn't anyone want to see my book proposal? Hello?"

I'll cosign on that Choire, my little soupbones. What about The Corsair's novel deal, Kate darling (in best growly 'what's new pussycat' Warren Beatty voice)? Hello?

Out: Marriage, for the Catwoman; nine lives, yes, nine marriages, JHo; nein. Halle Berry said she will never get married again, according to Ananova, via The Oprah Winfrey Show:

"Halle Berry says she will never get married again after discovering that her second husband Eric Benet was cheating on her.

"She admits in a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey to air in the US tomorrow that stories last year that Benet was having an affair were true.

"Berry, who filed for divorce from Benet earlier this year tells Winfrey: 'It's probably the first time the tabloids got my life right!'

"She also said that her latest role as Catwoman, in which she wears a leather catsuit, helped her take control of her life.

"... I'll never get married again, and I always hate to say never to anything, but I will never marry again."

Pass the gospel on to serial bride JLo, sister. BTW: No, that's not a massive tumor on Halle's head, that's a mask.

In: Adam Moss' vibrant, new New York Magazine takes a long, hard look at past SNL stars who exited the show with the highest of hopes and the lowest grade piece-of-ass scripts (listen up, Mr. Fallon, school is in session, the teacher is professor Logan Hill), "Once the most precocious SNL alum, Eddie Murphy plummeted from the heights of Beverly Hills Cop. After lampooning Mr. Rogers and playing blue in Raw, he got caught with a pre-op transsexual prostitute named Shalimar in 1997, but recovered at the box office by churning out enough parent-approved pap (Daddy Day Care and the upcoming Daddy Day Camp) to shrug off his flop Pluto Nash."

Ah, suki-suki. Who added the dash of Wasabi to NY Mag? Adam Moss did, that's who.

Out: $500 on steaks and $4,000 on wine. According to Page Six, "EVANDER Holyfield at Nello's washing down two kobe steaks ($250 apiece) with a $4,000 bottle of Screaming Eagle wine to celebrate his deal with Don King to fight Vitali Klitschko this summer."

What about the goddamned pomme frites! You can beat a man to death and still eat like a monarch. Only in America.

In: Everyone on K Street is asking: Can The President present a unified Party and a unified vision? TheHill.com reports:

"President Bush will visit with congressional Republicans today in the Capitol amid growing levels of tension between the White House and GOP leaders.

"House and Senate leaders invited the president, who has big-ticket legislative items pending, to address members, something he has not done in the Capitol since last May.

"The meeting will take place in the basement of the Capitol, and Bush is expected to take questions."

The Republicans are grumbling, eating their own, the moderates are growing restless, the anti-immigration hordes are upset.

Can Dubya shore up the party, especially after his fall in the polls and his symbolic fall from his bike?

Out: JLo in Russia. Moscow snow drifting off her high water booty: priceless. According to British Vogue:

"JENNIFER LOPEZ has chosen Moscow as a venue for her first shop launch. The singer, actress and fashion designer is expected to attend a party to launch the shop, which will stand alongside the likes of Calvin Klein and Ungaro in the Crocus City Mall, on May 31. Aimed at the city's richest 12 to 15-year-olds, the boutique is an attempt to create an 'interactive shopping experience', with plasma screens showing off Lopez's image constantly, huge sofas and music booths playing her records. 'There will be a swing chair and girls are expected to come with their friends to have a good time,' Tatyana Stoliarskaya, a spokeswoman for the mall, told The Hindu. The 300 sq metre shop will sell clothes, jeans, belts jewellery, sunglasses and a new line of lingerie that will debut during the opening fashion show. 'Moscow for Jennifer represents the ultimate in beauty, luxury and culture,' according to press release about the store."

Interessant.

In: Curbed, the snarky real estate blog, brought to you by the my man Lockhart Steele, who'se got it on lockdown. It's so choice, I highly recommend it:

"Newly up for grabs: the Tribeca loft purchased by Sean Combs for $3.65 million. He never moved in, which justifies a $650k price jump."

Out: Clay Aiken, fast living, beer drinking womanizer. Right (link via Stereogum via Lauraslashtemp).

In: P Diddy: The Fragrance. JLo's opening a joint in Russia, and The Diddy's making scents, according to the AP:

"Sean Combs seems to have teamed up musically with everyone, from Notorious B.I.G. and Usher to Sting and Dave Navarro. But his next collaboration, through his fashion designer persona, is with Estee Lauder: The cosmetics company is planning to create and market a new line of fragrances under the rapper's Sean John name.

"'People express themselves in many ways � through their music, through the way they dress, and also through the fragrance they choose, so deciding to make a fragrance was very natural for me,' Combs said Thursday."

The scent is said to contain oil of Glock. Kidding.

Out: Kerry's convention plan -- floated convention plan -- sucks. William Safire, however, has a brilliant idea: set up the Dem Convention, next time around, at the same time as the Republican, allow competition to flourish.

Networks hate conventions. They could sell ad space on almost any show better than a convention. But with the two parties competing, you double the ante.