A Little of the Old In and Out

In: Britney Spears' "My Prerogative" 30 Second Teaser (link via Stereogum via WorldofBritney). How fucking odd is it for a thirtysomething writer to be getting hectic over a 30 second teaser. It's Scott's fault at Stereogum. His love of all things Britney is infectious, and I've caught the fever. Really, it's my prerogative.

Out: Franz Ferdinand. Hey, Franzies, "hipsters," could you pull yourself out of your After-Party obligatory Red Stripe-induced navel-gazing, and pay your bills? Freaks. Were you guys just having a "rock star moment," because, according to the 3AM Girls:

"... those Franz Ferdinand boys need to keep a closer eye on their finances.

"The Scottish rockers are the current darlings of the music scene - winning the prize the same week they were named GQ's Band of the Year.

"But there's one guy who's not impressed - restaurant owner Andy Steel, who runs Frocks in Hackney, East London.

"Band drummer Paul Thomson, 27, held his wedding to long-term lover Esther Congreave at the restaurant five months ago and, by all accounts, it was a beautiful affair.

"Unfortunately, the loved-up pair partly paid for the April celebration by cheque... and it has bounced.

"'They settled most of the bill on the night but ($359) of it was paid by cheque,' says Andy.

"'Then the cheque was returned by the bank with a letter saying it couldn't be cashed. I've been trying to sort it out with Paul ever since but he's always away or busy.'

" ... According to Andy, the wedding was a small affair with around 35 pals, eight bottles of wine and a meal thrown in.

"'At the time, I didn't even know who the band was,' he says. 'It's hard to believe that this guy I've been chasing for cash is now a famous rocker.'"

In: The It Girls of NYC Publishing. Fashionweekdaily lists the sexy and smart women in the glossy magazine chattering classes that we should be watching, talking about, and loving, namely: Heart's Catherine Black, Valerie Salembier of Harper's Bazaar, InStyle Prexy Stephanie George, Suzanne Grimes of Conde Nast, Mary Berner of Fairchild, and, rounding things out, Time Inc's Nora McAniff and Ann Moore. Take a bow, ladies: you've earned it.

Out: Tommy Hilfiger, according to the snarky and eternally interesting Geofrey Deeny of FashionwireDaily, who writes, archly:

"On Thursday evening, Tommy Hilfiger received a standing ovation in a packed Bryant Park tent led by a rat pack of hip hop giants and hot movie stars, as the Europeans in the audience shook their heads with wonder. That?s not to say the collection was in anyway a bad one, just that it was utterly formulaic and devoid of fashion news.

"In a word, the Hilfiger 2005 spring-summer collection reminded one of the sort of fashion one would expect to see in trade fairs like CPD in Frankfurt or the old Sehm in Paris. Take the opening look, a navy and white sailor?s knit tube dress worn by Naomi Campbell. It was an admirable, though essentially prosaic passage, yet the crowd reacted as if they were witnessing the second coming of Coco Chanel."

"... It?s notable that ever since Hilfiger?s financial backers Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou began spreading their luxury bets by buying control of the house of Michael Kors and the historic UK brand Asprey, Tommy has steadily moved his signature line up-market. Where previously his shows focused on New England, this season they looked to Portofino, Monaco and Capri."

P Diddy view was different, as he told the Miami Herald, "'That was Tommy at his best,' said Combs, who isn't holding a preview of his spring 2005 collection this year." Then again, when does Diddy insult anyone?

Anyhoo: read Deeny's full review here.

In: Victoria Gotti's Payback (no disrespect intended). Earlier this week, Rush and Molloy reported that Victoria Gotti got into a tizzy (no disrespect intended) when Paris Hilton snubbed her son, Carmine. Of course, The Corsair predicted that a vendetta would ensue. Victoria is, after all, her father's daughter (no disrespect intended)

In her Star column entitled 'Victoria's Secrets,' under the title "Paris, Get a Room," Victoria gets catty (no disrespect intended), writing of Ms. Hilton's recent smooch-a-thon with sometime porn actor Simon "I needed the money" Rex:

"At one point (Paris Hilton's) skirt went up as she wrapped her legs around Simon like he was an octopus, prompting one offended reveler to yell, 'Hey, Paris, get a room!'"

Definitely her father's daughter (No disrespect intended)

Out: The Thong, RIP. Alex Kuczynski of the Old Gray Lady eulogizes the thong with a sophisticated blend of tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended) irony and Chicago Manual of Style dryness. We laughed, we cried, we loved this:

"The thong underpant became a cultural touchstone, the very symbol of the tease. It caught on at a time when lad magazines like Maxim and FHM, with their photographs of panty-clad but never entirely nude women, took over from the old-man's magazine, Playboy, with its gauzy, fully naked pinups; when adolescent love was celebrated with the soul-free hookup, a form of physical connection without the burden of intimacy. Ms. Lewinsky flashed her thong to begin an affair that didn't feature real sex, at least by the definition of one parties. Ms. Spears, the celebrity perhaps most associated with the thong, embraced the virgin/temptress paradox with cutting accuracy. Audiences could look, but they could never touch. The thong is an invitation, not a promise."

In: Say what you will about Dick Morris, that he is a pervy Washington powerbroker with no allegiance to either Republicans or Democrats, only to himself, but never -- not within my earshot, anyway -- EVER call him boring. His latest column is fascinating and, probably a little pathological in it's emphasis on Hillary, Dick's obsession, and how Kerry is bungling his campaign by appealing to terrorism, which is The Bushie Strength, and not a Democrat domestic agenda:

"... Kerry, on the other hand, continues to miss the point. By talking about his wartime record ? even by rebutting the claims of the Swift boat veterans ? he diverts attention from the domestic issues that are his only salvation.Terrorism, after all, is a media event outside of New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Who is going to attack Kansas City? Every day, Americans must go to the pharmacy to get Mom?s prescription medication and ante up the high copayment or absorb the entire cost if they are without insurance.

"Every week, workers get an inadequate paycheck or worry about their futures in the face of low cost foreign competition. It is this daily reality, not the media-driven threat of terrorism that Kerry must stress if he wants to get back into this race.

"Instead, Kerry has reached out to a set of advisers who do not, really, even support his candidacy. James Carville and Paul Begala have their primary loyalty to the Clintons who, first and last, want Hillary to run for president in 2008. Generally speaking, it is a good idea in politics to hire only advisers who want you to win."

Out: Ewan McGregor, the force wasn't with him. What is it with celebrity road trips to "find oneself"? First, "delicate actor" Adrien Brody went on that Cannonball Run European Race on the DL, now Ewan McGregor, according to The 3AM Girls:

"FOLLOWING his 20,000-mile motorbike trek, you'd think Scottish star Ewan McGregor would know how to look cool on the road. Clearly not.

"The 33-year-old Star Wars actor is back home after his Easy Rider-style, country-spanning bike ride.

"And the motorcycle's obviously gone back into storage because he has been spotted in Maida Vale, London, attempting to drive a Mustang.

"'Ewan was trying to look cool but was failing miserably,' says an onlooker.

"'His driving was terrible - he even stalled at the lights. What a waste of such a cool, classic motor.'"