A Little of the Old In and Out



... From the sublime. (image via msn)

In: Selma Blair. Selma Blair has been hovering just under everyone's "Fashion Icon" radar for quite some time now, appearing -- always swellegantly, always with a highly refined taste -- at the right events (And then, unselfconsciously, sabotaging that image in film with edgy directors like the crack-smoking John Waters).

She breaks the surface, according to British Vogue:

"SELMA BLAIR is the new face of Chanel. The actress, who is currently in New York shooting Purple Violets with Ed Burns and Debra Messing, has been dressed by Karl Lagerfeld on numerous occasions. She wore two of his dresses for her wedding � a pink single-shouldered one for the ceremony and an identical black one for the party � and now he has photographed her for the new Chanel Vision ads. 'I have a lovely relationship with Karl,' she told WWD. 'It's different to be shot by him. I'm so comfortable in front of him. Sometimes when I work with other photographers, they say, 'Give me more Selma, more, more.' But they don't really know who I am. With Karl, he's capturing something that's more � my personal flaws, the way I am as a girl, not a model.'"



... To the ridiculous; Anna at Live 8. (image via morgenpost.live8)

Out: Anna Nicole Smith. When planning an event with gravity -- the Homeric Greeks called such weight "Spoudaios" -- don't invite Anna Nicole Smith, formerly of Jim's Crispy fried chicken.

Come on now.

Isn't that obvious? If there is a fish fry and moonshine to do in the trailer park, yes, by all means call Anna (Averted Gaze); if there is, however, a concert concerning African debt relief, then -- no, keep Anna the goddam fuck away. According to TheSmokingGun:

"Claiming that an 'intoxicated' and 'scantily clad' Anna Nicole Smith marred this summer's Live 8 concert in Philadelphia, organizers of the charity fundraiser yesterday sued the Trimspa diet firm for failing to control its erratic spokesmodel and not paying a six-figure promotional fee. According to a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, a copy of which you'll find below, Trimspa agreed to pay Live 8 Productions $320,000 for commercials during the ABC broadcast of the July 2 show and for Smith to be 'integrated' into the production. The Live 8 complaint, which seeks in excess of $500,000 in damages, contends that Trimspa not only stiffed the group on the promotional fee, but 'to add insult to injury, when Ms. Smith showed up to the Philadelphia concert to be integrated into the ABC broadcast ... she was intoxicated and scantily clad in revealing attire that was totally inappropriate for a broadcast that would be seen by millions of people in the United States and then rebroadcast throughout the world.'"

(Calmly, but firmly) Come on now.

How can we, as a society, fail to "integrate" Anna Nicole Smith? Okay; brass tacks: The Corsair might be down with a plan giving her her own "homeland," say -- 40 acres and a mule.

"While Smith did eventually appear on the ABC broadcast, the group alleged that she 'damaged Live 8's reputation and goodwill in the entertainment industry by her unbecoming and erratic behavior.' Live 8, which organized concerts worldwide to coincide with the G8 economic summit, seeks cancellation of African debt and the doubling of aid to the impoverished continent."

The document here.



(image via newmediamusings)

In: Mary Meeker's Global Technology/Internet Trends. Kierkegaard once said that Hegel would have been the greatest philosopher in the history of the world if he had just added to the title page of the Phenomenology of the Spirit the words: "A thought experiment."

So, lets say that Mary Meeker delivered 60 page document on Global Technology/Internet Trends at the Stanford School of Business on November 15th is her "thought experiment." She calls this the IDG Age, or, the age of "Instant Digital Satisfaction," which ... could mean something else entirely.

According to Rafat Ali (link via Paidcontent) :

"Mary Meeker made a presentation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business two weeks ago and this is a PDF of her presentation...a 60-page PDF outlining what her team thinks as the game changers in the Internet business, and how U.S.'s role in the top tech trends is falling. Mobile, broadband, storage, on-demand, open-source, search, gaming, etc...a decent overview"

Here.



Out: Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. Not only is Representative Smith "saucy" (Think: Beef au Jus); but she is also vulnerable. According to our favorite Dickensian villain, Robert Novak:

"Newly elected Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio, excoriated by Democrats for intimating that Rep. John Murtha is a coward, faces a possible Republican primary challenge next year from former Rep. Bob McEwen.

"Piercing the usual veil of anonymity for freshman House members, Schmidt was battered by Democrats for suggesting that decorated wounded war veteran Murtha was a coward because he proposed withdrawal from Iraq. Republican colleagues were furious with her for making the well-liked Murtha the issue instead of the war.

"Former State Rep. Schmidt won the nomination last June 14 with 31 percent of the vote in the 11-candidate field, trailed by McEwen's 25 percent. In the Aug. 2 special election, she nearly lost the heavily Republican Cincinnati-area district."



(image via bergenn-filmklubb)

In: Jim Jarmusch. Jim Jarmusch, who earlier this week was presented with a Gotham Achievement Award from the excellent Bill Murray. BTW: Remember "Broken Flowers" at Oscar time, readers; you know who you are that vote. Although Philip Seymor Hoffman is a lock for Best Actor, and Squid and Whale will win Best Screenplay for the insanely talented Noah Baumbach -- Murray and Jarmusch deserve nominations.

But we digress. Jarmisch has this to say to the Hollywood Reporter about the possibility of going mainstream Hollywood:

"THR: Ever had a yen to make a $100 million Hollywood blockbuster?

"JJ: Honestly, no -- it's not really what I'm attracted to. I would gladly make a film with a studio, provided they would give me complete creative control -- which will probably happen when Hell freezes over. Also, I don't think I would be very good at making a big, commercial, expensive film; it's not what I'm drawn to aesthetically, so I would probably make a bad film, also. But that could change. Nothing is set in stone, and I might wake up tomorrow and zingo! -- I've got an idea for a $100 million film. But so far, that has not happened."

(The Corsair nods appreciatively) You do your thing, Jim Jarmusch ... you .. do your thing.