Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"'Are there any creative people in the house tonight?' inquired Kanye West during his Casio G Shock performance at Cipriani Wall Street. 'Cause I want you to know that there's nobody in the world who can do your job better than you can!' Last night, no one was arguing with West's point when it came down to the performer's own job .. With a Casio on his arm and on-again girl Amber Rose just few feet away, West danced, improvised, and sang his way through an impressive hour-long set that put a spotlight on his strong last album and his fetish for awesome lighting. And it wouldn't be a Kanye concert without his diverse group of supporters, all situated at the VIP balcony upstairs, naturally. Tory Burch came with her family, Sky Nellor danced with friends, Nina Garcia stopped by after work, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump tagged each other along." (Fashionweekdaily)



"On the red carpet the buzz was all about Paula Abdul leaving American Idol. From NY Housewife Bethenny Frankel to former contestant Constantine Maroulis, the loyalty belonged 100 percent to Paula. Everyone was hoping to see King Kanye and Amber Rose arrive but it didn't happen. However, inside at the performance twitter noted she was 'joking' back n' forth about and during his performance. No cameras allowed... except of course the unstoppable little hi-def cell phones every other guest held high in the air snapping away... and recording too!" (Papermag)



(image via thesun)

"KAREN Mulder, the Dutch model questioned by police but not charged in Paris earlier this summer for allegedly making threats against her plastic surgeon, looked pretty fine on a yacht with Kate Moss, who was also topless part of the time. But Mulder covered up under a big hat and sunglasses at lunch at Club 55 in St. Tropez, where Harvey Weinstein held court with Jason Statham, and Saudi Prince Al Waleed and his guests ate halal cuisine prepared on his yacht. Former French President Jacques Chirac -- who's staying with his friend, Gucci Group owner Francois Pinault, for three weeks -- worked the crowds at the market in town." (PageSix)



(image via NYSocialDiary)

"It was Wednesday and it was Michael’s. And just who should show up the night before (Tuesday) at the town’s number one media restaurant with the husband the news has been reporting she was leaving ... but the former governor of Alaska and Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, Sarah Palin. Ms. Palin was guest of Bob Barnett, the Washington lawyer who engineers those multi-million dollar book deals for politicians like Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. Ms. Palin dined on Maine Lobster and quaffed champagne. She’s gonna be rich if Mr. Barnett has anything to do with it. Meanwhile back to yesterday's lunch, Silda Wall Spitzer of the Elliot Spitzer Spitzers, was there with her friend Lisa Linden." (NYSocialDiary)



“Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was presiding over the Senate chamber this afternoon when the Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Judge Sonia Sotamayor as the nation’s first Latino Supreme Court justice. Franken was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s choice for the plum opportunity. Junior lawmakers from the majority party typically preside over the Senate chamber -- mundane duty except during the highest-profile votes.” (ABC's The Note)



"Perhaps tethered to his Antwerp studio, Dries Van Noten couldn't cross the pond for Wednesday evening's Couture Council Cocktail Party, but his presence was certainly felt. Hosted by Charlotte Moss who, with her signature Southern hospitality, invited Council members and chic friends into her exquisite Upper East Side home, the summer soirée celebrated Van Noten as the winner of this year's Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion, the official ceremony for which will be held at the Council's annual luncheon on September 9th .. Arriving fashionably late in a double-breasted suit and his trademark tortoise shell glasses, Vogue's Hamish Bowles created a buzz with his new look: a rustic layer of stubble that could only be described as dashing." (Fashionweekdaily)



"On cable, all the attention these days seems to be going to the likes of TLC for 'Jon & Kate Plus 8' and USA for its rookie hit 'Royal Pains.' Less talked about is what TNT has pulled off this summer, but it's certainly no less significant. It's extended its original programming from one night of the week, Monday, to three, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. TNT has long talked about competing with broadcast with original programming on multiple nights, and over the last year in particular. Now it's done it, and it's reflected in the ratings. Last week, TNT was the No. 2 cable network in primetime behind only USA with nearly 2.3 million viewers. Much of the credit goes to 'The Closer,' the long-running Kyra Sedgwick drama about a Los Angeles homicide detective that airs on Monday. It was cable’s No. 1 show last week with almost 7.5 million viewers." (Medialifemagazine)



(Sharon, Gulnora, Sir Elton John and Co-President of Chopard, Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele via daylife)

"Gulnora Karimova is known in Europe as a jet-setting socialite and philanthropist and has been spotted at events with Sharon Stone, Elton John and, reportedly, former U.S. President Bill Clinton. But back home, Karimova is likely being groomed as successor to her brutal dictator father and has used his influence to amass her own formidable financial holdings. The consequences of crossing Karimova became clear in 2001 when she divorced her husband, an Afghan-American businessman with extensive holdings in Uzbekistan, and took their children out of the United States in violation of a court order. The unfortunate ex-husband’s Coca-Cola bottling factory in Uzbekistan was promptly shut down, three of his relatives were imprisoned, and 24 were deported at gunpoint to Afghanistan." (Dictator's Daughters Gone Wild/ForeignPolicy)



"'When? The official announcement? Or the 6-month pre-announcement?' -- Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly when asked at the TV critics press tour where he was when he heard the news that Ben Silverman, the exec who two years ago replaced Reilly at NBC, was exiting the network." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)



"It has been three weeks of non-stop peregrinations in Greek waters, a mere bagatelle when compared with the ten-year quest of a certain tempest-tossed figure called Odysseus, which of course makes young Taki a rather dull sailor .. As luck would have it, I had Tom Fleming, a PhD in classics, on board, along with his historian wife Gail, and a wonderful couple from Texas, Raymond and Catherine Welder .. To my eternal shame, Tom Fleming was reading the Odyssey in Ancient Greek, a text I can read out loud faultlessly but with little understanding .. Odysseus was and remains a Greek favourite because of his resourcefulness and cleverness, but also because he believed in his instincts. Modern Greeks have had a bad time, what with the dreaded Turk and the Balkan wars, and a civil war which truly ended only recently, so resourcefulness counts as paramount among modern Hellenes. Odysseus is also deeply emotional, as are my fellow Greeks, and easily moved. He is also scared shitless at times, but confronts his fears and stands up to man’s greatest anxiety, death. In fact, he embodies all of us humans." (Takimag)



"Former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell (R) has opened up a statistical lead over his Democratic rival in the race for governor, according to new polls out of the Old Dominion, and some political observers say a public souring on President Obama could be the cause. The latest poll, conducted for the liberal DailyKos website by the independent polling firm Research 2000, shows McDonnell with a 51 percent to 43 percent lead over state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D). That's up from a statistically insignificant one-point margin between the two in a mid-June poll. In the new poll, both men have healthy leads among their bases, though McDonnell does noticeably better among Democrats than Deeds among Republicans. McDonnell also sports a 55 percent to 40 percent lead among independent voters." (TheHill)



"Lou Dobbs stepped away from the ledge this week, having spent the past month staring longingly into the abyss as he auditioned for a starring role in The Birther Conspiracy. On Tuesday’s installment of CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight—where he has been stoking the phony controversy over whether President Barack Obama meets the constitutional requirement of being a natural-born U.S. citizen—Dobbs finally backed off. 'Oh, God! Don’t say birthers, whatever you do—not on this broadcast!' Dobbs warned CNN political correspondent Candy Crowley after she’d described a White House strategy to brand health-care reform opponents as 'birthers,' 'crazy people,' and 'wackos.' Dobbs giggled nervously, baring his teeth. He apparently has had his fill of near-universal opprobrium from the MSM, not to mention an official caution from CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein, who declared the birther story 'dead' July 23 in a widely circulated internal memo. 'And by the way, you can say birther whenever you want. It’s OK. It’s what you say after that that’s critically imp—' Dobbs added, interrupting himself mid-word with another sustained giggle." (TheDailyBeast)



"Anderson Cooper will interview Lisa Ling tonight, sister of Laura Ling who was released from North Korean captivity Tuesday. In the past, Lisa Ling has been a special correspondent for CNN and has worked on projects for MSNBC." (TVNewser)

"This past Tuesday SumZero, an invite-only investment buyside analyst community, held their first social get-together at the Bryant Park Cafe that featured a smorgasbord of investment professionals, portfolio managers, and MBA types. And believe it or not it wasn’t just male quant jocks, there were some finance gals there too!" (Guestofaguest)