Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"It's very clear that most Arab regimes are on edge over the possibility of the spread of the protests in Tunisia and Algeria. Arab columnists and TV shows have been excitedly debating the real causes of the protests and what they might mean, while in country after country warnings are being sounded of a repeat of the 'Tunisia scenario.' It's not at all clear whether these protests actually will spread yet, as regimes on high alert will not be taken by surprise and local conditions vary dramatically. The protests have already sparked a region-wide debate about the prospects for political change and the costs of political repression and economic stagnation. The discussion of the 'Tunisia scenario' is everywhere. In Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood warned today that the impending price rises planned by the new government will lead to an unprecedented explosion along the North African model -- which is the lead story in Lebanon's al-Akhbar. In Egypt, Trade and Industry Minister Rashid Mohammed Rashid ruled out a 'Tunisia scenario' in his country over the economy, though many columnists and political activists disagree. Leading Saudi columnist Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed today seems worried, rather than excited, that protesters may have broken the psychological barrier against demonstrating and raises the specter of a 'domino theory' by which even currently calm Arab states may soon be threatened." (ForeignPolicy)

"Which rock-star survivor is in a relationship with that weird lady mainly because she helps hook him up with younger women? Which Oscar-nominated Brit with a large penis is basically a leather queen who cuts quite a swath in his head-to-toe biker drag? Which enduring TV star is a big lesbian, the public love of her life having actually been a closeted queen who routinely hired hustlers? Which superstar has been known to pretend to play guitar in concert, usually with his back to the audience? Which longtime screen villain is a baddie in real life, too, absolutely horrendous to work with, according to all reports? Which still-working '80s actress recently redid her whole face except for her mouth, and it looks a tad middle-period Picasso? ...  Which gay mogul recently met a young guy at a soiree and offered 'any amount you want' to go home with him, as long as the guy wasn't hairy? (He specifically wanted dirty, sweaty sex with a smooth Jewish twink. The guy said, 'Oy.')" (Musto)

"Yesterday I went down to Michael’s to lunch with the ladies in the picture with me. Somers Farkas, Cynthia Lufkin, Grace Hightower, Muffie Potter Aston, and Daphna Kastner. I’ve seen these women lunching together fairly frequently at Michael’s. I know all of them except Daphna. They’re the girls’ version of the Imber-della Femina-Kramer-Bergman-Greenfield boys’ table that meets there regularly." (NYSocialDiary)

"Jonathan M. Tisch, the chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, and his wife Lizzie (above) today announced a $10 million gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to build the latest new, improved gallery for its Costume Institute, the pet charity of New York’s garment business since the 1940s. Unmentioned in the press …er…report in this morning’s paper is the subtext of a $10 million gift to the museum: It typically buys a seat on the board, as it did not long back when the controversial libertarian mogul David Koch landed a seat with a same-sized donation. So it’s reasonable to expect one of the Tisches to join him come September when the latest class of trustees is elected. This is also a family affair for the Met, which already has a Tisch Gallery, underwritten with a $10 million gift from Tisch’s late uncle Larry and his late father Preston Robert Tisch. Larry was once a controversial figure on the Met’s board and young Tisch himself played a cameo role in the museum’s recent history when the $3 million dinner that followed his first wedding to Saul Steinberg‘s daughter Laura became a signal moment in the brief bright saga of Nouvelle Society." (Gripebox)
 

 
"Which opera diva should be nicknamed 'Cosi Fan Booty' due to her reluctance to wear panties under her costume? Says an operagoer who got an eyeful from the front row, 'Say what you will about the pro duction, but the carpet always matches the drapes!' Following comments from fellow cast members, the 'commando soprano' relented and now sports a thong." (PageSix)

"Last night TVNewser ventured to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where Newsweek/Daily Beast editor Tina Brown hosted a party for CNN’s new 9 PM host, Piers Morgan. In welcoming the guests, Morgan shared a remarkable story about an encounter he had with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly at a recent New York Knicks game. Morgan and O’Reilly were in the VIP suite, and having never met the FNC host, Morgan naturally wanted to say hello. 'Obvisouly I marched up, expecting him to shower me with praise about this glorious resurrection of CNN, and he comes up to me and goes, 'ah, yea, I know you,' Morgan recalled. 'So I shuffled off meekly,' Morgan said. 'Not only is he #1 but he is intimidating, he sort of shooed me away.' It was Morgan, however, who would get the last laugh a few minutes later, when O’Reilly returned with his teenage daughter: 'He has to walk even more sheepishly to me, and say Ok, my daughter is an America’s Got Talent fan is there any way I can get a picture of you with my daughter?'” (TVNewser)