Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via thewrap)

"Two years ago, David Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles was hailed as a cultural watershed akin to the Beatles landing in New York in 1964. Not only would he transform professional soccer in this country, we were told, but he and his wife, Victoria, would be a celebutainment bonanza. To say it hasn’t worked out that way would be a polite understatement. Now he’s bolting altogether – either immediately, as seems likely by news reports that put him permanently in Milan, or at the end of the 2009 season. Indications are that we’ll know the answer this week. What happened to the revenue streams the couple was supposed to generate in the worlds of fashion, music, movies and maybe more?" (TheWrap)

"Ingrid Sischy, newly-arrived in Milan sans Sandra Brant, front-row at Ferragamo .. ...Anna Wintour's latest fur coat--the one she wore to Missoni--on sale for many thousands of euros at the Prada flagship...Jefferson Hack celebrating the end of the Gucci show with a cocktail at the Hotel Diana." (Fashionweekdaily)

"Let me say that for the long run I’m very optimistic. Why? Two things act as the mainsprings of progress. Number one is technology and that’s going to keep advancing, so that’s very good. Second is capital and savings. Individuals will solve their own problems and, therefore, they will stop consuming more than they produce, which is what they’ve been doing for years, and they’ll again start producing more than they consume. The difference is savings; that builds capital. So technology and capital are going to solve the depression. But the government can do all kinds of stupid things to make it worse. Look at the Soviet Union. They suffered a depression that lasted 70 years from its founding. Look at China. The whole reign of Mao was one long economic depression. That could certainly happen in the U.S., too, where the government misallocates capital in such a way that technology doesn’t advance as it could and people can’t build individual capital the way they would. I’m optimistic, but anything can happen." (Doug Casey/Goldseek)

"Sayid from Lost is totally at my coffee shop! Wonder if he'll snap my neck with his feet." (Tricia Romano/Twitter)



"George Takei, beloved 'announcer' on The Howard Stern Show returns to the studio this week. Takei, best known for playing Captain Sulu on the original TV series 'Star Trek,' has become a staple on The Howard Stern Show since Stern moved to Sirius Satellite Radio three years ago. George Takei updated the crew on everything happening in the self-proclaimed 'Year of Takei' ... which details on George's long-standing, ongoing battle with William Shatner. George Takei was also very revealing in discussing the intimate details of his love life with his long-time partner and husband, Brad. In fact, George Takei and Brad are staring in a short film being shown at New York's Metropolitan Museum of the Arts in which the couple, while in bed, discusses their love for one another." (Gather)

"Elie Wiesel’s much-quoted refusal to say he’d forgive Bernie Madoff for stealing every cent of the foundation he’s made his life’s work was the most memorable utterance at a panel at Manhattan’s 21 Club, hosted by Portfolio magazine last week .. The question for Obama is how he can rein in the furies of populism while making us all feel the malefactors of great wealth are being sufficiently punished. Thus far the president’s speeches have been stern when he alludes to the perpetrators: 'This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.' The trouble is that as the full depth of this recession sinks in, we’re getting more morose and paranoid. Every money manager could be Madoff. Every bank could still go bust. Wiesel suggested that instead of bailing out banks the government should bail out all the nonprofits ruined by the charlatans." (Tina Brown/TheDailyBeast)

"If Mitt Romney never wins the GOP presidential nomination, at least he can take comfort in owning the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. On Saturday the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 White House contender won his third straight victory in CPAC's presidential straw poll." (CQPolitics)

"Kiddies, mother is talking about a fancied lady-killer who preys on the vulnerable. A Bernie Madoff-lite. Only younger. In the 50s. Three women he's milked and bilked who can't expose themselves to the authorities are personally known to me. His mantra? Schmoozy loving attention and, without his marriage or children troubling him, the "Now that I've found you, I can't live without you" shtick. Pay attention, ladies. If this sleaze is working you now - get away. He calls himself a money manager. Despite losing millions of New Yorkers' dollars in investments, he's now shopping and spending with a new very young suntanned ladyfriend in her 20s. The point of this piece is so he knows eyes are watching him." (Cindy Adams)

"Billionaire Warren Buffett said the economy will be 'in shambles' this year, and perhaps longer, before recovering from the reckless lending that caused the worst 'freefall' he ever saw in the financial system. The economy and stocks will rebound, and the best days for the U.S. are ahead, said Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., in his annual letter to shareholders Feb. 28. Buffett said he’ll spend the recession shopping for new investments for Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire. 'The economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 -- and, for that matter, probably well beyond,' said Buffett. 'Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so.' Buffett, an informal adviser to President Barack Obama, said the consequences of the U.S. housing bubble are now 'reverberating through every corner of our economy.'" (Bloomberg)

"The first time I ever went to Newport was when I was a kid going with my family to visit a family friend. Coming from a small New England town I’m sure I can still remember being saucer-eyed on first seeing the palaces that run along Bellevue Avenue. Castles are an endless wonder to a child with imagination and Newport is a feast. Many years later, by then living in New York, I used to go there on weekends to visit a friend who had a summer rental -- an apartment on the property of Clarendon Court which later became famous because of the tragic death of one of its later owners, Sunny Crawford von Bulow. That was fascinating to the grown-up but for other reasons and a story for another diary entry." (NYSocialDiary)



(Vassilis Paleokostas via athena984)

"Vassilis Paleokostas is the Arsène Lupin of the Olive Republic, aka Hellas or Greece. He is by profession a bank robber, known for his impeccable manners but unfortunate jowly, plebeian looks. He is 42 years of age, a ladies’ man, and Greece’s most wanted man. Three years ago, Vassilis managed a daring escape from the high-security Korydallos prison of Piraeus via helicopter. The chopper landed in the exercise yard, Vassilis hopped in and was flown off to freedom. All hell broke loose following his sudden departure. The newspapers accused the government of incompetence, the government blamed prison officials for watching porno films instead of the prisoners, but the buck stopped when the chief screw came up with a brilliant idea. He called a press conference and announced that Vassilis’s escape would be the last one ever attempted via air because a large net would be installed over the yard. Cheers and congratulations all around, and then life returned to normal in Korydallos. There was only one problem. Prison officials forgot to put up the net." (Takimag)