Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Kathy Griffin stopped by (The Howard Stern Show) to promote the new season of her new book, 'Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin,' and Howard immediately complimented her trimmed-down physique. Kathy asked him to go further: 'Would you say anorexic?' Robin wondered if that's what she was going for, and Kathy confirmed it: 'That's what A-listers do.' Howard thanked Kathy for mentioning him and the show so many times in her book. Kathy told Howard she liked it when he says he'd bang her, as it's the highest praise he could bestow on anyone – but confessed a greater attraction to Fred: 'I find him physically attractive and I think he possesses a beautiful mind' ... Howard asked after Kathy's celebrity sexual conquests, so Kathy related a few stories from her book, including the time she dated a pre-fame Jack Black: 'He met my parents and everything.' Kathy said their relationship fell apart to his addictions ('A lot of video games and a lot of pot.') and Andy Dick: 'They kind of had a bromance going.' Kathy also said she dated Quentin Tarantino for while: 'I have shame about that because I didn't fuck him' ..Kathy revealed that she'd ruined her relationship with her old 'Suddenly Susan' co-star, Brooke Shields, during her last appearance on the Stern show." (HowardStern/Rundown)



"The sudden death in February 2008 of Badri Patarkatsishvili, Georgia’s richest man, rocked the ruthless world of the Russian oligarchy, pitting his widow, Inna, against his partner, exiled billionaire Boris Berezovsky, in one of the biggest estate battles ever, and landing an American lawyer in a Belarusian penal colony. Talking to key players in New York and London, the author reports on suspected forgery, secret marriage, and an alleged private-jet kidnapping." (VanityFair)



"Noticeably absent from today's coverage leading up to the President's address to Congress is MSNBC's Chris Matthews. Matthews was on the schedule to host Hardball leading in to tonight's 8pmET address, but TVNewser has learned health problems are keeping him at home. MSNBC spokesperson Jeremy Gaines tells TVNewser Matthews had some follow-up tests Tuesday related to his diabetes. 'He's going to take the rest of the week off to rest, but he's feeling fine and will be back on Monday,' says Gaines." (TVNewser)



"...(A)n intimate 35-guest sit-down in an outdoor patio complete with breathtaking views of skyscrapers and his many fans. 'I'm such a scaredy-cat when it comes to heights,' said Jim Moore who has been a fan of Van Assche's since his first men's effort. 'But someone once told me that if you're tall, you tend to have that phobia!" The recent CFDA honoree was soon joined high above the city by Josh Hartnett, Chace Crawford, Harley Viera-Newton, Stefano Tonchi and Taylor Momsen ... The CW was well represented last night, as Momsen was joined by Dior decked-out stars of The Beautiful Life. 'I'm just moving back into an apartment,' shared Mischa Barton. 'It's a nice to have a home again. I love this city. I mean, I grew up here and I have some friends who are models. We obviously have things in common. Girls like Jess Stam travel a lot and work long days on hot sets and spend many hours in make-up. One frustration for models, at least according to my friends, is that they wish they could do more intellectually.'" (Fashionweekdaily)



"What's green, greatly coveted, and offers extraordinary power to he who possesses it? For comic-book fans, the answer is the power ring wielded by the enigmatic Green Lantern, one of the most popular superheroes ever created by DC Comics. In the real world, the answer is not too dissimilar: It's 'green' lanthanide, a blanket term for more than a dozen 'rare earth metals' that are used in a range of increasingly important defense and technology applications. There's just one thing: China caught on to green lanthanide's strategic value early and has been cornering the market ever since. The country now controls more than 95 percent of the world's supply. From the comic-book analogy, one might infer what this means. These metals, today used in commercial products such as mobile phones and iPods, will increase in value over the coming years, as they are essential in a range of energy-efficient applications from hybrid cars to wind turbines. Lanthanide is essential to radar systems and lasers required in weapons such as America's awesome arsenal of "smart bombs" and other precision-guided explosives. Although rare earth metals can be found in many countries, few governments or corporations had the foresight to invest and develop lanthanide mines. The United States, for example, has some reserves, but the U.S. government and private corporations depend heavily on existing stockpiles and on imports. Mining of rare earth metals in the United States is rare." (ForeignPolicy)



(Maggie Betts, Zac Posen, and Genevieve Jones via NYSocialDiary)

"The major kick-off party was hosted by Saks Fifth Avenue, unveiling their third floor with red carpet arrivals, a cocktail reception and dinner – showcasing 32 one-of-a-kind cocktail dresses created by major designers for the launch (many of these exclusive to Saks). All was executed with Saks signature impeccable taste. Among the guests: Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Zac Posen, Vera Wang, Bruce Weber, Laura Bush, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos." (NYSocialDiary)



"Invitations to the wedding of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner haven't gone out yet, but friends are already angling to get on the guest list, sources say. The couple will swap vows Sunday, Oct. 25, in an Orthodox Jewish ceremony before 500 guests at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ. The 525-acre property was the estate of automaker John DeLorean, which the father of the bride bought nine years ago." (PageSix)



"Walter Cronkite passed away this summer at the august age of 92. Although he was not a Twitter Trending Topic this morning, tout le evening news cablers and their counterparts on the networks paid tribute to Walter Cronkite at his memorial service in Avery Fisher Hall last night." (AirAmerica)

"Republican Rep. Joe Wilson shouted 'Lie! You lie,' at President Barack Obama during Wednesday’s address to a joint session of Congress, earning repudiations from his own party and from Democrats. Wilson took exception to a passage in Obama’s speech on health care in which the president said illegal immigrants would not get health insurance coverage under the overhaul. 'There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false — the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally,' Obama said. Wilson answered the comment with his outburst, loud enough to be picked up on television and in such an unusually disruptive fashion as to merit reprimands from across the political spectrum. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, a fellow South Carolinian, said Wilson’s heckling was more damaging to South Carolina’s reputation than the exploits of Republican Gov. Mark Sanford , who admitted to having an extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman. 'I thought he [the governor] had embarrassed us as much as we could be embarrassed. But to have a congressman use the floor of the House of Representatives in a joint session to insult the president the way Joe Wilson did is as embarrassing as anything anyone could think of,' Clyburn said. 'Our state can do without this.'" (CQPolitics)



"ABC News has learned that President Obama will be meeting with 16 Democratic senators (and one 'Independent Democrat') this afternoon at the White House. They are: Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mark Warner of Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Tom Carper of Delaware, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Many of these senators have expressed concern if not downright opposition to key elements of President Obama's health care proposal, particularly his push for a government-run public health care option to compete with private insurers to drive down costs." (ABC)