Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Today is the day that the heads of the big Wall Street firms — including Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, Vikram Pandit of Citigroup, John Mack of Morgan Stanley, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, and Ken Lewis of Bank of America — have been dreading now for weeks: Their appearance before Barney Frank's House Financial Services Committee .. QUESTION ONE: WHOSE BRILLIANT IDEA WAS IT TO GET LEVERAGED 40-TO-1? During the good years, Wall Street firms borrowed $40 for every $1 they had in capital. By borrowing so much money folks were able to earn outsized profits during a boom, but this borrowing led to huge losses—so huge that now many of your banks are teetering on the verge on insolvency. So what I want to know is: who internally approved all the leverage, and what bonehead at the Securities and Exchange Commission or Federal Reserve said it was the right thing to do?" (Charlie Gasparino/TheDailyBeast)



"Sir Bob Geldof was completely in the dark about his daughter Peaches divorce from Max Drummey - and only found out through the internet. Peaches, 19, released a statement on Saturday to announce that her 186-day marriage to the 24-year-old rocker was over. But she kept the news from her family and they only found out when her older sister Fifi spotted the news on a gossip website. She then had to frantically phone Peaches to find out if it was true." (Thisislondon)

"VOGUE is rolling out the red carpet for Michelle Obama - she'll appear on the March cover, only the second first lady to do so. The Annie Leibovitz snap shows Michelle leaning on a soft beige sofa at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, DC, wearing a magenta dress by Jason Wu, who designed her inaugural ball gown. Inside, a photo shows her in a black Narciso Rodriguez. While most first ladies have been featured in Vogue, Hillary Clinton is the only other one ever to make the cover." (PageSix)

"The Cinema Society and Angel by Thierry Mugler hosted the American premiere of The International -- and the movie with the important sounding name got the epic treatment last night to celebrate its grand debut. There were two red carpets at the screening for the likes of Spike Lee, Michael Stipe, Isla Fisher, and Lee Radziwill, a grand after-party at the Guggenheim (with nearly the entire museum open to the guests), and multiple coach buses to take guests to the bash." (Fashionweekdaily)

"President Barack Obama could learn from himself in future press conferences. Yesterday in a Florida town hall with 'civilians' he was loose, informative, responsive and at times even a bit funny. But on Monday night taking questions from the White House press corps the President seemed tense and on guard. Obama won the night, for sure, coming across as in full command of the room. It's just that he came across far more comfortable with regular folks in Ft. Myers on Tuesday. Reporters at the press conference did not ask difficult or challenging questions. Apparently, only one - Helen Thomas - tried to ask a follow-up question, but Obama talked over her in what seems to be a continuation of George W. Bush's refusal to take follow-ups. Loosen up next time, Mr. President." (Craig Crawford/CQPolitics)

"Since UPN merged with the WB and Fox dumped 'The Bernie Mac Show,' broadcast has lacked for programming headlined by black actors .. "(TBS') 'Meet The Browns' is averaging 3.63 million total viewers and 1.84 million adults 18-49 this season, according to Nielsen ratings provided by Turner Networks. In fact, it has pulled ahead of 'Payne' for the season in total viewers, prompting TBS to order an additional 70 episodes last week after the initial 10-episode run. 'Payne,' meanwhile, is averaging 3.5 million viewers and 2.02 million adults 18-49. Both shows are among the most-watched on television, broadcast or cable, among African Americans. Though the shows have gotten just middling reviews, there’s no doubt they’re filling a big gap in television these days. There are just two black-headlined sitcoms left on broadcast, the CW’s 'Everybody Hates Chris' and 'The Game,' which have been relegated to low-rated Friday night." (Medialifemagazine)



(Models Hilary Rhoda and Jessica Gomes via Fashionweekdaily)

"IMG Models scored a coup in this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. The modeling agency has six faces (and bodies) in the new issue, more than any other agency. To fête the talented models, IMG Models took over RDV for after-work cocktails Monday night. The Daily caught up with five of the six famous faces about their shoots and upcoming tour .. 'My most memorable moment was when me and the whole crew started singing the soundtrack from Hair, the musical,' said Tori Praver of her shoot in the Canary Islands. For Hilary Rhoda, the swimsuit issue was her first, and it was also her first time to the exotic locale. 'We shot on Canouan in the Grenadines. I had no idea where it was,' said Rhoda. 'I had to Google it.' Esti Ginzburg, who is also new to the swimsuit issue, should be doubly proud as she has been cast as the lead in the new Joel Schumacher project, which begins filming in March. Jessica Gomes, an SI veteran, had to don a metal bra. 'It was kind of uncomfortable,' said Gomes. 'But it ended up being pretty funny.'" (Fashionweekdaily)

"Call Cutta in a Box is a one-person-at-a-time experience that was a big hit at the recent Under The Radar festival. I tried it myself, and found it arresting, informative and totally unique. I don’t want to describe much, because part of its charm is in the unknown. You enter a spacious, well-appointed room in an uptown Fifth Avenue building. The phone rings; you pick it up and begin talking to a call center agent in Calcutta, India. For the next 45 minutes, whatever transpires is for you only. There are a certain amount of set pieces and surprises, with a computer and other props, but otherwise, it’s a back-and-forth transcontinental phone call with someone you most likely would have never met. The concept came from Rimini Protokoll and it's a collaboration of three men: Helgard Haug, Stefan Kaegi, and Daniel Wetzel." (Papermag)