Media-Whore D'Oevres





(images via fashionweekdaily)

"A spring nip was in the air Wednesday as Amy Fine Collins, Connie Uzzo, Reem Acra, Mark and Lorry Newhouse, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, and Beth Rudin DeWoody gathered at Lincoln Center for the New York City Opera's spring gala honoring Edmée de M. Firth. For some, the occasion provided an opportunity to wear a favorite gown in front of Isaac Mizrahi, who designed the costumes for the night's production of Henry Purcell's 'King Arthur' ... During intermission, guests weighed in on the performance.'I quite liked the humping scene,' quipped Rufus Albemarle. That, for better or for worse, was part of the program he watched standing, having arrived fashionably late ... Mizrahi, who spent much of his night giggling and whispering sweet nothings into Julie Janklow's ear, was content as can be. 'They were really supposed to be rehearsal clothes,' he admitted. 'The big surprise was seeing an opera singer in a corset or underwear.'" (Fashionweekdaily)

"While there has been some violence since Kosovo declared independence on 17 February, most of the action thus far has been diplomatic. Enlargement, Kosovo's declaration of independence and NATO's security commitments in Afghanistan will dominate talks when allied foreign ministers gather in Brussels on 6 March for a final meeting before NATO's 2-4 April summit in Bucharest. According to diplomats, a consensus has emerged to invite three Balkan countries to join the alliance. Noting that the foreign ministers will review a consolidated progress report on the membership action plans (MAPs) of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, a senior European allied diplomat said: "I suspect from the signals issued by all the other allies that we'll be issuing invitations" at Bucharest for the three to join NATO. 'It's our view that they have done enough to merit an invitation.'" (Janes)

"Among the news from New York this morning: one of the top glossies, the toppest, with the most gravitas, is preparing a profile on Veronica Hearst, the widow of Randolph Hearst, who died eight years ago at age 85 ... Not long before her husband died, Mrs. Hearst had purchased for $27 million, a palatial mansion on the ocean in Manalpan, just south of Palm Beach, called Villa Venezia which had been built in the 1920s by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, the youngest child of Alva and Willie K. Vanderbilt. Mrs. Hearst’s real estate purchase was controversial at the time because it was known that Mr. Hearst was in no position, health-wise, to commit to such a large real estate investment, and so there were questions wandering around as to just how Mrs. Hearst could or would come up with such a large sum. It later became known that this purchase, made during the so-called sub-prime real estate boom, was the result of some nimble financing which presumed that the boom would go on forever and which, as many of us have since learned the hard way, did not, leaving Mrs Hearst in the (somewhat luxurious) lurch. A couple of weeks ago, it was learned that the palace is in foreclosure, and that Mrs. Hearst had joined the millions of other Americans caught between a rock and a hard place now known as the sub-prime mortgage debacle." (NYSocialdiary)

"Screening in the Documentary Feature Competition, Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein's 'Bulletproof Salesman' is having its world premiere at the South By Southwest Film Festival. The doc follows Fidelis Cloer, a self-confessed 'war profiteer' who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. As explained by South By Southwest: "It wasn't about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product." indieWIRE talked to Tucker about his and Epperlein's film and their goals for South By Southwest." (Indiewire)

"A gunman infiltrated a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem and opened fire in a library Thursday night, killing at least seven people, officials said.Rescue workers said at least 10 people were wounded. Government spokesman Daniel Seaman and police said there was only one gunman though initial reports said there were two. In Gaza, the Islamic militant Hamas praised the attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Thousands poured into the streets to celebrate, firing rifles in the air. 'We bless the (Jerusalem) operation. It will not be the last,' Hamas said in a text message sent to reporters. In Lebanon, Hezbollah's Al-Manar television said a previously unknown group called the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza claimed responsibility for the attack. Mughniyeh, a top Hezbollah commander, was killed Feb. 12 by a car bomb in Syria. Hezbollah blamed his assassination on Israel, which denied any role." (NYTimes via AP)

"The Jewish people have never been more 'lonely, vulnerable, and threatened' than they are right now, Mr. Lévy said.About 1000 people had come to hear Mr. Lévy talk about this idea, among them Isabella Rosellini, former New Republic owner Marty Peretz, and someone important from the French consulate. Also, Maer Roshan from Radar was there; he sat in the balcony with Portfolio media blogger Jeff Bercovici.On his way downstairs to the party, Mr. Roshan was asked if he liked Mr. Lévy’s speech. He said he had, but that the tone was more polemical than he’d expected. Did Mr. Roshan feel lonely, vulnerable, and threatened, as Mr. Lévy had described? Not personally, he said. Not in New York. 'I grew up in Iran so I know that people who live there are scared,' he said. 'My relatives there are certainly scared.'" (Observer)

"Democrat Barack Obama has raised a record $55 million in February for his presidential campaign.... More than $54 million of the February money was for the primary election. It was the second fundraising record set by Obama. (AP) The vast increase in the number of Obama's donors -- he's now past a million -- indicates how deep a well he'll have to tap for the rest of the year, in the general election, and beyond." (Ben Smith, Politico)