Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Not long ago, television news was a no-cry zone. The top newsmen were celebrated for their emotional control in the face of gut-punching developments. War, death, terrorism, plague—nothing rattled their composure. But when it happened, when an anchor couldn’t help himself, it mattered .. These days, everywhere you look you see anchors seemingly on the verge of an emotional breakdown. CNBC’s Rick Santelli recently flipped out on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and became an overnight sensation. Political analyst Roland Martin cried at the sight of Barack Obama winning the November election and is now guest-anchoring in prime time for CNN. With the Big Three rapidly losing prominence in the American consciousness, a fractured network of opinionated, impassioned news sources have brought emotions center stage in the delivery of the news. Making the case against the emotionally dessicated coverage of the supposedly objective networks, especially in an era of breakdown—financial, emotional, ethical—means showing that, well, you’re not afraid to break down." (Observer)

"Democrat Al Franken’s lead in Minnesota’s long-disputed Senate race increased to 312 votes Tuesday, making it mathematically impossible for Norm Coleman to win his state trial challenging the election outcome. A three-judge panel appointed by the state Supreme Court is expected to rule this week that Franken won the race. Franken’s slim advantage expanded after election officials, acting under court order, opened and counted 351 previously rejected absentee ballots. At the end of a six-week hand recount, Franken had led Coleman by 225 votes out of 2.9 million cast. The additional ballots were ordered evaluated for validity as part of Coleman’s challenge in state court to the outcome of the recount. The court still has to resolve whether some ballots were double-counted, as alleged by Coleman, and the handling of ballots that went missing. But those questions affect fewer than 300 ballots — too few to wipe out Franken’s lead, even if the judges rule in Coleman’s favor." (CQPolitics)



"Who could play First Lady Michelle Obama on the silver screen? Following the European triumph by President Barack Obama and the First Lady last week, that question is not just a Hollywood parlor game -- it is another way of saying that Michelle Obama is now officially the Biggest Star in the World. Unless you spent last week under a rock, it was impossible to avoid the stunning images of the First Couple beamed around the world from the G-20 Summit. And by now, as Michelle Obama returns here to the nation's capitol, calling her the Biggest Star in the World is not an understatement." (TheWrap)

"I hear you all snickering with gossipy glee that Samantha Ronson has apparently dumped Lindsay Lohan and supposedly had a restraining order taken out on the mess. But let's have a little gay heart. Has anyone ever suffered more for her success than poor Lindsay? A freckle-faced dumpling who captivated audiences in remakes like The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday, she became a pawn in the war between two embattled parents--a former showgirl seeking fame for herself and a born-again whack job who reached out to his daughter via on-camera sound bites .. And now, she's too old to play girlie roles, too uninsurable to play just about ANY roles, and too hurt to trust the shark pool she's been thrown into since birth. And you laugh? For shame. I love you, Linds. Come to mama!" (Musto/VVoice)



(image via JH/NYSocialDiary)

"Last night I went down to the Pierre where CASA (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University) was holding its 17 Anniversary Awards Dinner. Julie Chen and Michael Douglas were emcees. The honorees were Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, who was presented with the CASA Distinguished Service Award, and Anne and Kirk Douglas who were presented with the CASA Inspiration Award (for their courage and generous spirit to help families battle substance abuse and addiction)." (NYSocialDiary)

"As Barack Obama returns from Europe on Tuesday, he has in bright, bold strokes revealed his signature on the world stage: He is Obama the rationalist. A diverse set of Obama decisions in recent days have a common theme: a leader who sees himself building a more orderly, humane world by vanquishing outdated thinking and corrupting ideology. With a rapid series of major announcements and rhetorical gestures, the new president has done more than turn from Bush-era policies. He has shined a vivid light on his philosophical outlook on the world — and how starkly he differs from his predecessor on basic beliefs about power, diplomacy and even human nature." (Politico)



(image via style)

"Saturday night's party for the new Javier Peres-curated exhibition of sculptures by Mike Kelley, Terence Koh, and Jeff Koons at Mary Boone got off to a shaky start. Half an hour into the opening, less than a dozen people had breezed through, and those were just passersby. But any worries that the tanking economy has cast a permanent pall over the art market—or at least the art party scene—were put to rest when Koh stepped out of a giant SUV in a fur hoodie 45 minutes after the party was scheduled to wrap up. For the next several hours, chic-sters like Jack McCollough, Lazaro Hernandez, Jen Brill, Yvonne Force Villareal, and Hope Atherton tardily paid their respects, as Koh stood proudly by his installation, a 25-foot-long urinal." (Style)



"Chic DJ/singer/songwriter Olivia Maxwell has put West Virginia on radioland's map with The O Show, which has a cult-like following of music maniacs and indie hipsters. Maxwell (the daughter of filmmaker Ron Maxwell) spins the old with the new (like NYC band Koko Dozo) on 89.7 WSHC. 'I am in my little box of zen,' Maxwell tells me. 'I dance, I rock and I swing knowing that I am not alone'" (Papermag)



(image via brooklynvegan)

"This Saturday, April 11th, Yeah Yeah Yeahs will perform as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Zac Efron hosts. This past Saturday's episode featured Paris's Phoenix. Videos from that show HERE. In related news, 'Zero,' the first single off the band's new record It's Blitz, has so far been remixed by MSTRKFRFT, N.A.S.A., and Animal Collective (and probably others)." (BrooklynVegan)



(the bespectacled mystery man via thisislondon)

"Madonna certainly isn't hiding away as her adoption bid rumbles on, keeping herself very much in the public eye with yet another evening out. She dined out with pal Stella McCartney for the second night on the trot, joining her and a group of friends at Assaggi restaurant in Notting Hill. Madge was then followed to her Marble Arch home by a bespectacled chap, who is said to have gone inside and left at 1am. On Tuesday night she and Stella were at Cecconi's in Mayfair." (Thisisshowbiz)

"First, Garry Shandling was added to the cast of IRON MAN 2 alongside Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle. Now, Gary Oldman has been spotted on the set in Los Angeles. Earlier today we revealed Garry Shandling as Senator Stern in the film from our on set tipster. Now, he's delivered us news of another Gary. Oldman seems to be making a crossover from the Warner Bros./DC Batman and Harry Potter franchises to a Marvel Studios franchise." (IESB via Observer)

"Nan Goldin is selling some of her personal items At Christies Paris on April 7th... OK.. for all those Nan Goldin photography fans and fanatics (like MAO).. you have to see this! AMAZING! ... And, well.. let's just say.. they are very "Interesting" items.. and maybe give a little extra in-site into the crazylife of Photographer Nan Goldin. We're still trying to figure out what in the world this one is...Lot 102 and what is she doing with it? ..Post-Lot Text A BLACK-LACQUERED DILDO, PROBABLY ASIAN" (ModernArtObsession)

"I went to work at a place in New York that represented the legal and business affairs of a lot of big Hollywood names -- Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, David Letterman. I worked as a mail boy there, and then I went to work in the mailroom of William Morris in New York. Ari Emanuel of Endeavor was my roommate in New York, and when we moved to L.A., he slept on my couch for seven months. Those 'Entourage' episodes only capture 10 percent of Ari .. There were a couple of projects that we got done that nobody else could do. There was one called 'The Fortunate Pilgrim' with Sophia Loren. NBC had budgeted it at over $35 million, and we took it to Yugoslavia and did a co-production with a little known guy at the time named Silvio Berlusconi in Italy. We put together a miniseries that we ended up making for $14 million. So that was a breakthrough. And then the next one was when LIVE Entertainment was going bankrupt, and we had to pick two movies that we were going to finance, and one of them was 'Reservoir Dogs,' which would not have gotten financed were it not for us believing in Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender." (TheWrap)

"I’ve been thinking a lot about first date etiquette recently, & specifically the idea that women shouldn’t sleep with men on the first date. It’s spoken about so seriously by some women, like it would be the absolute worst thing you could possibly do. It bothers me. It’s sexist. It’s ridiculous. & worst of all, we bring it on ourselves by continuing to warn our girlfriends that sex on the first date is a relationship curse. To show you how asinine it is, think about this: You never hear guys telling one another, 'Man, don’t bang her straight away! She won’t be interested any more! She’ll think you’re easy! That you don’t value yourself! Whatever you do, hold off!' Stupid, right? Yes. So why is it any different when someone with breasts is saying it? It’s this whole idea that men are always gunning to get laid & as women, it’s our responsibility to make sure they don’t get what they want — so that when they finally get it, they’ll be so grateful that they’ll marry us… or something. ...What?!" (Galadarling)



"The New Museum’s 'Younger Than Jesus' exhibition opened this Tuesday, featuring the work of fifty artists all born of our consumption-obsessed, ‘culture of me‘ era. Marking the first edition of, 'The Generational,' all artists are under 33 years old and hail from 25 countries. Guests including Emma Roberts and Andrew Bevan viewed the multidisciplinary works of these new talents, at a pivotal time when the changing global landscape is transforming the future of visual art." (Guestofaguest)

"During a Cinema Society screening of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema last night, Sienna Miller took a five-minute break in the lobby. 'No matter how many times I do it, I find it almost impossible to watch myself on screen with a straight face!' she admitted .. Meanwhile, guests at the Links of London and Grey Goose-sponsored event were glued to the screen to witness a complex love triangle set in 1980s Pittsburgh. 'I've always had this project on the back of my mind ever since I read the book in 1995,' said director Rawson Marshall Thurber. 'I couldn't really explore complex love relationships during the filming of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story!' Some familiar faces on hand included Anna Wintour, Zoe Kravitz, Olivia Thirlby, Sally Singer, Gilles Bensimon, Sante D'Orazio and Nicole Trunfio. Miller's co-star Peter Sarsgaard appeared without his young daughter Ramona. 'In my family, it's not up to me to decide when our young girl sees all the grown-up movies,' he laughed before referring to his character, a bisexual gangster. 'I would love to relax and finally shoot something kid-friendly next, like the C. S. Lewis Space Trilogy. Someone, call me!'" (Fashionweekdaily)

"Comedian Jim Breuer was on The Howard Stern Show this morning. You may remember Jim Breuer from his days on Saturday Night Live. Some of Breuer's best known characters on SNL include 'Goat Boy' and one of the older brothers in the 'Goth Talk' skits. Breuer was on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1998 .. An interesting discovery this morning during the Jim Breuer interview. Breuer was telling a story about the first time his dad met Lorne Michaels. Mr. Breuer was really confused by the name Lorne. His dad wondered 'Loren, Lauren, what the heck kind of name is that... what is he?.' The Stern crew then went on a whole tangent about what Lorne is. Artie made me laugh out loud when he shouted out, 'He's Canadian!' They were trying to figure out if he's Jewish, German, Italian, or what. Turns out, Lorne Michael's real name is Lorne David Lipowitz. Yes, he's Jewish - and Yes Artie, he's also Canadian!" (Gather)