A Little of the Old In and Out
 
In: Tuscany: it's the new St. Barts, "ecktually" (Averted Gaze) According to the LA.Com blog, Vanity Fair's Winston Light whiffing, Kirby's English socks wearing, architectonically tressed, son-of-a-gun editor, who, in point of fact, has not been able to find space on the cover of his glossy in years for a single African-American in the entertainment industry (I think there are a couple out there: Prince, Oprah, Halle, Will Smith, Tiger Woods, just to name a few ...), is headed to Tuscany:

"It's our loss and Italy's gain. Or perhaps the other way around? Graydon Carter, the Vanity Fair editor-in-chief beleaguered by conflict-of-interest accusations in recent months, had long planned to spend the rest of this summer up at LA?s swank Hotel Bel-Air. But no more. Sources say Carter just cancelled those long-held reservations and instead will be summering at a friend's home in Tuscany. No reason was given for the switch, but I bet Carter's feelings about our fair city have been adversely affected by all those juicy Los Angeles Times articles about his personal Hollywood projects winding up being lauded on VF?s glossy pages. Will Carter change his 'tude by Oscar time?"

Out: Jessica Simpson. Thank God for British Vogue, so that when we are tired from wrestling with Sallust's vivisection of First Century Rome, we can rest our fevered minds, crack open a cold one, hang mellow ... and get in touch with our inner picklehead, to wit:

"JESSICA SIMPSON may have a reputation for being a bit ditzy, but she knows a good thing when she sees it. Since the blonde MTV reality show star draped a multi-coloured shawl around her shoulders during an episode of Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica she has had a marked impression on the fashion economy in Argentina and, in particular, on the 28 knitters in a factory outside Buenos Aires and model-turned-designer Cecilia de Bucourt. 'Since Jessica started wearing my shawls I got more and more demands from her fans who love her style and what she wears,' De Bucourt told AP. 'I'd say it tripled my production in just four months.' Jessica, who bought her shawl in a boutique on New York's Upper East Side for $200 is pleased that she's been able to share some of her good fortune. 'I never would have thought that my love for shopping could have such a meaningful impact on someone's life,' the 24-year-old singer said. 'Nick and I have gotten a lot of attention from reality television but this is the kind of reality that really matters.'"

What really matters, yes, you dingy broad-- nothing says "meaningful impact on people's lives" quite like a shawl.

In: Ben Affleck showed the cast and crew of Surviving Christmas his "junk on the briefcase." But now Benben is going to show the world his kung fu grasp of geopolitical issues, as the most excellent Rush and Molloy report (3rd item):

"Look for Ben Affleck to address the Democratic Convention Tuesday night in Boston. The local boy's rep confirms, 'We're finalizing details now.'"

Note to delegates: Please keep your briefcases out of Ben Affleck's reach.

Out: The wacky pseudodivorce procedings of Vanessa Williams and Jason Foxx, according to the National Enquirer:

"Williams and Fox live on opposite coastsVanessa Williams and her husband, L.A. Laker Rick Fox, have a bizarre relationship, even by Hollywood standards -- he cheats on her, they live apart and decide to divorce, but they never file the court papers!

"'It's the wackiest divorce in showbiz -- they've spent 18 months talking about splitting up and do nothing!' said a source close to the couple.

"After The ENQUIRER published a photo of Fox kissing a beautiful blonde on June 25 ... Fox's publicist confirmed the marriage was over. Fox was caught red-handed in a nightclub called Da Dawghouse in Waikiki, Hawaii. He was supposed to be in Honolulu for preseason training. But the hoop star was more interested in going one-on-one with the blonde. He danced with her and even had his hands between her legs as she sat at the bar, according to an eyewitness.

"While Rick lives on the West Coast and Vanessa lives on the East Coast, their publicists need to meet somewhere in the middle and get their stories straight! Vanessa's publicist Brad Cafarelli told The ENQUIRER: 'They are not separated. Vanessa has not filed for divorce.'

"But Fox's publicist Staci Wolfe was more forthcoming and told us: 'They are heading for a divorce and have been so for the last 18 months. They've virtually been leading separate lives.'

"Added an insider: 'They may get a divorce next week or they may get a divorce in another 18 months. It's wacky. But they do love their kids. And it will break both their hearts when they make it final.'"

In:  Page Six's Paula Froelich. Brandusa Niro's Fashionweekdaily tells us: "It seems that the ongoing interest in the gossip world and its wars has spurred a burst of creativity from Page Sixer Paula Froelich. We're told Froelich just submitted a proposal for a novel based on a gossip columnist's life. "

The Corsair is so first in line to buy this book, deciphering the pseudonyms of celebutantes, wanna-be players and the requisite PR flacks. Your pimp hand is strong, Paula Froelich; pimp hard, we want this book to be printed!

Out: As our favorite hott Aquarius blogger, Ultragrrrl notes, those damned dirty apes (actually, just a precocious five year old Macaque in Tel Aviv named Natasha) are walking on their hind legs! It's the end of the world as we know it. The Corsair shivers.

In: Meghan Stier's wonderful Megastyles is back! "She used to write mainly about fashion here," says Meghan of her sexy self," but now uses this blog like everybody else uses their blogs: to muse cathartically about cereal and shoelaces."

We have such a mad crush on Meghan, it's not funny.  

Out: Will Smith's Willie. According to Ireland Online:

"Will Smith has had his manhood chopped out of new movie I, Robot in the US, but the sight of will thrill fans in Europe.Smith bares all in a shower scene in the new sci-fi adventure film, which stormed to the top of the American box office at the weekend, but fans in the US will miss the actor's full frontal shot thanks to a little last-minute digital work.

The actor chose to reveal all in the scene to show how vulnerable his paranoid character is - but producers feared censors would cause a fuss, and cut the sight of Smith's manhood from the film.The disappointed star says: 'It's interesting because America is the only place that it's really a big deal.'The scene in this movie was full frontal nudity, but they had to digitally remove it. It was the most expensive CGI shot in the movie. I hope the nude scene appears in other countries.'

"Smith only plucked up the courage to take on the shower scene in the first place after watching Harvey Keitel appear totally nude in controversial director Abel Ferrara's 1992 movie, Bad Lieutenant.He says: 'I saw Bad Lieutenant with Harvey Keitel and I looked at that scene, and Harvey Keitel is just standing there butt naked, and it's almost like the attitude is like: 'Yeah, look at this here.'I'd love to be that comfortable with nudity, but I'll never be that good an actor.'"

The Corsair agrees.

In: The Democratic Party High Rollers Itinerary, as published by Matt Drudge; Among the events:

"Sunday, July 25, 2004 Clambake at the Kennedy Compound

Noon to 2:00 p.m.

"Leadership Council(All guests depart from Four Seasons Hotel)

"Please join Senator and Mrs. Edward M. Kennedy at their historic home in Hyannis for an afternoon clambake (this event is by invitation only).

"Tuesday, July 27, 2004

"Policy Briefing by President William Jefferson Clinton

"The Wang Theater (Ed Note: Tee Hee, A Briefing by President Clinton at the Wang theater, tee hee) 270 Tremont Street 10:00 a.m. to Noon

"Please join President Bill Clinton for a briefing and question and answer session on the key issues facing our country this election year. 

"Pool, Bowling and Cocktails with Ben Affleck

Jillian?s 145 Ipswich Street 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

"Come join Ben Affleck and shoot some pool and share cocktails at Jillian?s Sports Bar located minutes away from Fenway Park.  Special guests also include General Wesley Clark. 

"Funny But True:  Important Issues in 2004

"The Shubert Theatre 265 Tremont Street 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

"Please join political commentator Paul Begala as he highlights the humorous side of election year politics.  (Ed Note: You haven't lived on the wild side until you've heard Paul Begala's Ross Perot impression)

"Panel participants include actors Chevy Chase, Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin. 

"Post-Gavel Reception with Senator Kerry Museum of ScienceScience Park 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

"Please join us as we honor the next President of the United States, John Kerry, and celebrate the final night of convention activities in Boston.  And, come hear a special performance by Jon Bon Jovi."