Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"In addition to being repeatedly urged to bomb the trails into South Vietnam from the North (which he never did), Kennedy was repeatedly urged to send combat troop divisions (not merely instructors and advisers as Eisenhower had done before him) to supplement South Vietnam’s own troops. (But he never did.) As I advised him: 'If ever there was a country that needed to save itself, that country is Vietnam.' Today that country is Afghanistan. But too many of Obama’s advisers, ignoring Kennedy’s lesson, apparently think the answer in Afghanistan is sending more U.S. combat troops. The real question is not the number of American troops in Afghanistan but their mission—to win more deadly battles with the Afghan people, or to win their goodwill? As a United States senator, Kennedy had notably warned against futile American involvement in the attempt to suppress nationalism in either Algeria or Indochina. As president, he recalled those warnings and held his fire. Obama, as a presidential candidate, sounded much the same alarm against the dangers of another quagmire in Iraq and, by indirection, Afghanistan. He, too, should recall his earlier warnings. America’s national security, much less its way of life, was never at stake in Vietnam, thousands of miles from our shores, nor is it in Afghanistan. U.S. leaders say we must win to establish sufficient control in Afghanistan to prevent our enemies from ever again meeting to plan, plot, and train anywhere in that vast, ungovernable country. Every bomb we drop, antagonizing more civilians, makes that goal more unrealizable." (Ted Sorenson/TheDailyBeast)



(Helena Christensen, in Marchesa, with Georgina Chapman, in Marchesa via fashionweekdaily)

"The downtown set was divided among bevies of fêtes Tuesday night, from launches to shopping parties and in-store cocktails galore. The Garrard showroom in the heart of Soho hosted a group of Marchesa-clad ladies as Georgina Chapman unveiled her collection for the British jewelry brand, designed in collaboration with creative director Stephen Webster ... The feathery theme affected even the night's attendees; Helena Christensen breezed in wearing a micro-mini dress and a feathered topper, eliciting an emphatic 'Yowza!' from (Harvey) Weinstein." (Fashionweekdaily)

"Last night I went a benefit dinner for the Smithsonian Archive of the Arts at the Mandarin Oriental. Many times I am invited to occasions such as this when I have no specific idea of what it’s about. My motivation is based entirely on curiosity and this diary and you dear reader, so I hope you’re not dozing as you read this. This was the case last night. I’d decided to go because they were honoring Doug Cramer whom I have known for a long time, having met him when he was Aaron Spelling’s partner and a hugely successful television producer in Los Angeles. Although he’s never been one who operated in an orbit of flash, back in those days it was said that he was earning a million dollars a week. That was thirty years ago. Whether or not that figure was accurate, it served to described the 'community’s' perception of the man which is the Hollywood version of highest esteem, as you can imagine. There were others but damned few. At that time – early 80s – those two guys were the hottest in their business, and presumably the richest. Mr. Spelling eventually expressed his wealth by building the biggest house in Beverly Hills (except for the Doheny mansion, Greystone). Mr. Cramer expressed his wealth by living wealthily compared to the rest of us working stiffs, but especially by becoming a collector of Contemporary Art of the first order." (NYSocialDiary)



"The big back-to-school buzz in London is about the Museum of Everything, dedicated exclusively to outsider art. The museum opens in mid-October, in conjunction with the Frieze Art Fair. The labyrinthine space is housed in an old dairy, which later became a well-known recording studio in Primrose Hill. The museum is the brainchild of one James Brett, an eccentric and creative fellow whose vision for the museum was inspired by William Brett (no relation), who has a quirky museum with the same name on the Isle of Wight. (Outsider arts can also be found at an annual fair in New York or at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago. A handful of other museums dedicated to the work can be found in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, America, and Ireland.) ... Brett finds this work dynamic because it exists 'in every country, in all price ranges and from an array of wonderful creators.' For him it is not 'outsider art' but 'insider art,' 'because it reflects the private interiors of the artists who create it.' Brett also hopes to invite individuals from around the world to show their collections. Among the supporters and individuals associated with the museum are: Ed Ruscha, Eva Rothschild, Lee Friedlander, Hans Ulrich Olbrist, Paul Noble, and Annette Messager." (Mandolyna Theodoracopulos/ Takimag)



"Sydney Morning Herald: What are some of the more unusual things you've done on camera? Monica Mayhem: Can we talk about tamakeri? It's a Japanese fetish where you basically kick the guy in the balls as hard as you can to make that slapping sound and that's what they get off on. I kind of did it just to say that I did it and to experience it cause I thought that is so bizarre that anyone would want to go through that. But usually it's the type of guys who've been tormented at school maybe and they want to be tortured by beautiful woman and it turns them on. The sneezing fetish; they made me sneeze, I had to sniff pepper or stick a toothpick up my nose and then blow my nose and that's a fetish. I've had my foot in places that it should never be. SMH: How much longer do you see yourself making porn movies? Monica Mayhem: I've been thinking about that lately, and I mean you can work until you are 80 ... there's a niche market for everything." (SydneyMorningHerald)



"Qatar is joining the Middle East movie gold rush. Qatari media group Alnoor Holdings has launched the $200 million Alnoor fund to finance and produce up to 15 features for the international market in the next five years. Alnoor Holdings, which has been building up its investment in the Arab media biz in recent years, will invest $40 million into the fund directly, with the remaining coin coming from private investors across the Gulf region. The fund will be aimed squarely at Hollywood and international projects. Alnoor Holdings is consulting Entertainment Capital Advisers on which projects to invest in. Fund managers hope to finance ethically based, family-friendly projects. They will likely avoid pics that deal explicitly with sex, politics or other contentious subjects. 'If you want to invest in the film industry, the best place to invest is Hollywood,' Alnoor Holdings chairman Ahmed Al-Mustafawi Al-Hashemi told Daily Variety. "They have the established business center. No business is without risk but we have been studying this for some time now and we believe that a 10% return on our investment is available. We believe in this business.' Alnoor execs plan to announce the first greenlit project in the coming days. The announcement coincided with Thursday's launch of the inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival. The four-day event is a partnership between the Qatar Museums Authority, dedicated to developing cultural initiatives in the country, and Tribeca co-founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff." (Variety)



(Emily Rossum via fashionweekdaily via patrickmcmullen)

"'It's a sea of suits!' one guest exclaimed as she clamored her way through the Edison Hotel's lounge last night during GQ's Gentlemen's Ball, the second annual gala benefiting a myriad of charities including UNICEF, Oceana, The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and the Pat Tillman Foundation. Packed with supporters of the cause, revelers balanced their Ketel One vodka cocktails as they dodged elbows, careful not to get mauled by a pair of cufflinks. Indeed, the venue was swarming with handsome, sharp-lookers like Ashton Kutcher, Adrian Grenier, and Mark Wahlberg, all of whom are Gentlemen's Fund Ambassadors. Josh Lucas, Sebastian Stan, Italo Zucchelli, Jamie Burke and other celebrity friends all slipped on their slickest duds for the cause ... GQ Creative Director Jim Moore sang the praises of Grenier and company. 'Charity involvement is the ultimate test of a gentleman. It's not all about a well-tailored suit or a slick tie!' Moore rattled off his ultimate gentleman list. 'Barack Obama, Johnny Depp, Paul Newman. There are so many!' Undoubtedly, there were too many dignified chaps to choose from. The girls fiercely batted their eyelashes, and rightly so. Rossum, who was chatting with fellow actor Stan, revealed, 'I like to be taken to the theater.' She continued with her modest list of requirements. 'A gentleman is kind and never plays games...and he opens your door!'" (Fashionweekdaily)