"In the family box in front of the TV cameras, the Palins were assembled, looking inhumanly gorgeous and well-groomed. The media frenzy around them was astonishing—they were rock stars, from Bristol and Levi down to little Trig. I wish I could have been a better sport about the fact that Sarah and her family now seemed to dominate the entire convention. Everyone was so excited by the Palins’ newness and real-life dramas, their exotic Alaskan lifestyle and their cohesiveness. The campaign’s focus, as well as the world’s, was suddenly completely on them. But it was starting to seem like reality TV to me. I kept wondering, why are these people taking over our lives? Later that night, I happened to be sitting in the hotel lobby bar with Shannon and Heather when Sarah (Palin) walked by—and the campaign staff and journalists in the room exploded in spontaneous applause, and then charged at her. A rope line formed, almost magically, as people began waiting their turn to talk to her, ask for an autograph, or to have their picture taken with her. I mean, even journalists were waiting to be photographed with her." (MeghanMcCain)
"Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) may not be ready to announce whether he will run for Chicago mayor, but he is already talking tough about taking on another potential candidate -- Rahm Emanuel. 'I know what it takes to compete against Rahm,' Jackson said Thursday of President Barack Obama's chief of staff. Jackson said he knows Emanuel, the former House Democratic Caucus chairman, 'very well' and ran through a laundry list of past campaigns that he has watched Emanuel run. These included Congressional campaigns -- 'some with positive messages, some with negative messages' -- and presidential campaigns for both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton, Jackson said. 'I saw these guys dissect people and then reinvent them and then take people who woke up one day thinking they were this way and went to bed knowing they were something else. So these guys are professionals,' Jackson said. The Illinois lawmaker said Emanuel would 'obviously be very formidable opposition for anyone contemplating the race.' He speculated that if Emanuel runs, he 'would bring an A game to Chicago mayoral politics unlike anything we've seen in a generation.'" (CQPolitics)
"North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has recently gone from man of mystery to international fashion icon. While the North Korean media frequently spit out unintentionally comedic headlines, it seemed oddly appropriate when the country's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun boasted in April that Kim's trademark khaki jumpsuit was now 'chic.' Could it be his look -- 'two-piece army suit, bouffant hairdo, Ray-ban sunglasses, and platform shoes,' as one ABC reporter put it -- offers some inspiration during these austere times? In any case, his fashion sense has more to do with function than form. Apparently, the often paunchy-looking ecru garment conceals a bullet-proof vest, while the hairdo and the shoes are height enhancers for the diminutive dictator." (ForeignPolicy)
"(Oscar de la Renta) had what looked like the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen there. That may be because they’ve perfected the optimal use of the space. There was one show for the press which preceded this by an hour. Many of the guests (there were some press too) are industry people as well as many of the de la Rentas; friends. Mrs. de la Renta was there, as was her friends Nancy Kissinger, and Mercedes Bass, Barbara Walters, Carolina Herrera, Donna Acquavella, Mica Ertegun. Catie Marron. Lou Lou de la Falaise, in from Paris. And Daphne Guinness." (NYSocialDiary)
"HBO subscribers sometimes complain when the channel debuts a new series in the fall, since there are so many new programs to watch on the broadcast networks. But that may be smart marketing. HBO’s series, whatever their flaws, are usually far better written, shot and acted than most network programming. This superiority is even more evident in comparison with the poorly conceived and executed new shows that the networks roll out every September. The channel’s new drama 'Boardwalk Empire,' premiering this Sunday at 9 p.m., is not only head and shoulders above its broadcast competition; it may deserve a place in the honor roll of HBO’s best series ever. But unlike much 'quality' television, it engages the viewer, drawing us immediately into its multiple story lines without either pandering or making us work too hard. The series centers on Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the corrupt treasurer and de facto ruler of Atlantic City, N.J., in the Roaring Twenties." (Medialifemagazine)
"Those who walked into the Odd Molly show yesterday saw on a riser some objects unfamiliar at a runway show: a drum kit and a few guitars. Most shows go with the tried-and-true loud scene-making music, but when you can get a Lennon to play your show, convention can take a back seat. What's more, Sean Lennon's new band consists of him and his girlfriend, Charlottle Kemp Muhl, who co-writes the songs with Sean. Wait, a Lennon performing with his lover? Something about that sounds familiar... 'Yeah!' Sean Lennon told The Observer when we asked whether his musical relationship with the Charlotte, a model, parallels that of John and Yoko. 'I'm a man and she's a woman, and there are not many couples that had bands. I guess it's The Mamas & the Papas, Sonny and Cher, uh — who else? Well, Blondie was a couple. So I guess we are like other bands that are couples, in that we're a couple.' Charlotte stood by packing up some cords and gear from the stage, letting her reddish hair topple over the front of her face. The duo, which will release an album under the cumbersome moniker The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger, has a sound that's both jaunty and folky, with Sean and Charlotte trading vocals, often in the same song." (Observer)
"Think back with me for a moment. When it came time to do the film version of the frothy stage hit Annie way back in 1982, some Hollywood genius actually had the brain cell deficiency to say out loud: 'I know! We'll get John Huston to direct it!' (Michael Musto)
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