A Little of the Old In and Out

In: LaundrySpa. Founded by The Corsair's brother, Fred Mwangaguhunga and Natoya Green, LaundrySpa has garnered some major publicity for a company less than a year old and we couldn't be more proud. The NYPost's Hot List writes:

"The just-opened Laundry Spa (www.laundryspa.com) is the lazy New Yorker's perfect service, not only providing pickup and delivery, but they'll even do your hand wash (which seems excessively lazy even to us, but whatever). The only drawback: They serve only the East Side down to 21st Street."

Congratulations, guys.



Out: Putin's Russia. Making Nigeria look positively schoolmarmish by comparison, Vladimir "Pooty Poot" Putin does nothing to waylay the reputation of Russian political life awash with corruption and mafioso-style business dealings with this little chestnut, according to IOL.com:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Francis Ford Copolla during a visit by the American director to Moscow to receive a prestigious film award.The Apocalypse Now film-maker visited Putin at the Kremlin before receiving the Golden Eagle award from Russia's National Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences for his contribution to world cinematography.The Russian premier was full of praise for Coppola's filmography during the televised meeting on Saturday - The Godfather is hugely popular in Russia."

And why the goddamn fuck doesn't that surprise us?

In: Lure Fishbar. According to Fashionweekdaily:

"The Lure Fishbar continues to be a hot spot: Nautica will stage a fashion presentation there this Wednesday, the same night as Nicole Miller�s pre-fashion week fashion show."

Out: Jackie Stallone. Ladies and gentleman, a mother's love, from -- of all places -- something called FemaleFirst:

"Jackie Stallone says that her son was born 'deformed' and doctors didn't expect him to live to reach adulthood.

"The eccentric star, whose son is 'Rocky' actor Sylvester Stallone, says that when she gave birth to her son medics warned her he would never grow up to be a normal child.

"She said: 'During the delivery to speed things up, they grabbed these ice-picks [forceps] and yanked the baby out paralysing his whole head and face and part of his body. His body was so deformed it was pathetic. 'The doctors told me He's so crippled you ought to put him away. But I decided he was going to walk, he was going to talk."

Class. Did Jackie Stallone belch after the interview?

In: Filth.There is some delicious irony in the fact that this year's Sundance Festival, which took place in Utah, a solid red state if there ever was one, had so much "blue material," according to Indiewire:

"Now that the Sundance Film Festival is all but over, with just today�s screenings of award winners and a few other titles left, people are trying to sum up what kind of year it was.

"A common opinion is that, in loyal opposition to the cultural (and political) conservatism that seemed to triumph with last year�s reelection of President Bush, many of this year�s films tried to be fearless in going places that such conservatives consider taboo. Examples: 'Inside Deep Throat,' the extremely dirty jokes told by famous comedians in 'The Aristocrats,' the teen sex discreetly depicted or talked about in 'Pretty Persuasion,' 'Thumbsucker' and 'Me and You and Everyone We Know.'

Out: Eric Estrada, Chisler! Harken with me back to the 80s, when officer Frank "Ponch" Poncherello -- so obviously not of Italian descent -- patrolled the California highways, meting out his own brand of law-and-order to the rascals of the road. Now, according to that significant cultural artifact, The National Enquirer, we find that Ponch is a chisler:

"FORMER 'CHiPs' star Erik Estrada has a new career in front of the camera-- telling cable TV viewers to join him in buying cheap homesites in California and Florida. But in his infomercials, on both English and Spanish TV stations nationwide, he fails to mention one thing: Many of the properties are so far out in the boondocks that there are no paved roads, no sewer, water or power hookups -- yet they're still priced sky-high! The now paunchy actor is pushing developments like California Pines in northern California and Lehigh Acres in Florida.

"'TAKE MY WORD FOR IT' Standing in California Pines, he tells viewers: 'This place is gorgeous! Take my word for it because I own property there myself.' A sign on the road leading into the development said: 'Erik Estrada's Homesite.' One new homeowner, furious when he found out what he'd bought, kicked over the sign."

How symbolic of one's impotence, that. Seriously, if you make a significant financial decision based on pop culture, and, at that, subgenus: 80s sitcom pop culture. Well, you know.

In: Scarlett Johansson. The Sir Edmund Hillary of Social Climbers is back in the news again, according to ContactMusic, this time trending younger, although a royal title is always preferred:

"Screen siren SCARLETT JOHANSSON is desperate for attention from younger men - and deeply regrets claiming she only wanted to date men over 30.

"The LOST IN TRANSLATION beauty is worried that her outburst has scared off suitors her own age because the only advances she gets come from physically unattractive older men.

"The 20-year-old says, 'It's horrible. I only get balding men with giant guts since that comment circulated. Young men can feel free to seduce me.'"

This sounds nice in theory, but agreeing to host the Sci-Tech awards is only going to encourage the balding headed giant gut set, Scarlett. Hosts of the Sci-Tech awards are regarded by the comic book reading crowd as certifiable Geek Goddeses, one step below X-Man, Jean Grey, but definitely more cooler than a fembot.

Out: Social Security Reform. While the Bush Administration pushes tort reform legislation, the embattled Democratic Party -- which, increasingly looks like it will be led by Howard Dean -- is making a last stand against Social Security reform, organizing and mobilizing troops with extreme discipline. According to The Hill:

"Business groups with the ability to spend tens of millions of dollars on the other side to promote particular Social Security reforms have yet to mobilize. That is because the administration has yet to push a specific plan and because business views other issues, such as tort reform, as more pressing.

"The anti-Bush coalition has brought together 30 core groups, including the AFL-CIO, MoveOn.org, the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the Campaign for America�s Future, USAction and the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Organizers said the coalition plans to raise at least $30 million to be spent on TV advertising and door-to-door campaigning to defeat Bush�s expected proposal to create individual savings accounts and trim government payouts.

"Organizers have yet to come up with a name for the collaborative effort or formalize its membership, but they are laying ambitious plans and meeting frequently. They are discussing hiring a campaign manager, establishing a war room and creating a joint fundraising committee, said strategists familiar with the discussions. 'There is a serious plan being put together,' said Tom Mattzie, the Kerry campaign�s former director of online organizing, who recently became MoveOn.org�s Washington director."