A Little of the Old In and Out



You do your thing, Toure. (image via toure.com)

In: Toure, Host, BET News. Trust us -- really, trust us -- when we say that it is exceptionally hard for youngish African-Americans to break through the unspoken of glass ceiling at the fashionable East Coast media duplex. In an infinite media universe, there is only, eveidently, room for a a few overused people of color as talking heads, right? (Averted Gaze) That's why we were happy to see this morning that Toure, who has done wonders in raising the bar, is headed over to BET to host the news and make his own opportunities. Mirabile dictu: from MedialifeMagazine:

"BET News has added three new members to its staff: former CNN pop culture correspondent Toure as host, writer and consulting producer; former The Source editor Selwyn Hinds as interim executive producer for BET News Briefs, some BET News Specials and the soon-to-be-launched Sunday news magazine; and writer/filmmaker Nelson George as consulting producer on all BET News and Public Affairs programs."

We are glad that BET: A) Is aiming after a young African-American demographic and giving some of the better-known media figures a chance to "do they thing," and, B) producing some original content. Finally! Of BET, at the time of Robert Johnson's retirement, we wrote (Tellingly, in the 5th item):

"The Corsair is of two minds about the retirement of Robert Johnson. On the one hand, he started BET. On the other hand, well, he started BET. Do they even have actual programming on BET? Every infomercial and snake oil salesman of a 'preacher' appears to have leased time on the station."

Apparently, no more. We're rooting for them. Congrats to Toure and gang. One small step ...



(image via bookofjoe)

Out: Donald Trump. Short-fingered vulgarian and intermittent blogger, Donald Trump, when not bending over, ass-akimbo, to pick up zinc pennies from the expectorate-laden New York City streets, runs a bimonthly Trumpazine. In the pages of this second-rate Trumpazine, Our Favorite Pennylover gives himself a sloppy, wet beej. According to Gatecrasher:

" In the fall issue of Trump World magazine, dubbed 'The Power Issue,' Donald Trump names himself as the most powerful man in the world."

Is that the Trumpazine with the B-List marginally fucky model Adrian Lima on the cover? (Averted Gaze) Charmed, I'm sure.



(image via house.gov)

In: Madeline Albright's "Busy" Broaches. This is actually kind of a cool piece; it's the sort of multidimensionally sophisticated communication thingie that diplomats used to do back-in-the-days of Grotius, but rarely do nowadays. As a Gemini who values all forms of eccentric communication, we love it. And you thought Albright's "busy" broaches were picked up while she was "antiquing" in Connecticut with Barbara Streisand and served no discenible diplomatic purpose. Piffle. According to USN&WR (link via Wonkette):

"As a rare woman in the male-dominated diplomatic world, former United Nations Ambassador and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright came to the posts during the Clinton years with a different approach--and wardrobe. And, she tells us, that gave her a new weapon in America's diplomatic battles: her trademark jeweled brooches. The Dame of Foggy Bottom reveals that her secret jewelry box diplomacy was sparked by a little comment made by the deposed Iraqi tyrant while Albright was ambassador to the United Nations. 'Saddam Hussein called me a snake,' she says. The next time she was on television, she wore a snake pin to show off her new status."

That reminds us of the Straussians' claim that 16th-century Italian ambassador and political theorist, Niccolo Machiavelli used literary hidden scuds and codes in his Letters and Discourses. But we digress:

"'So then,' she says, 'I thought it would be fun to send messages with my pins.' Word spread fast in the diplomatic community. 'When people would say, How do you feel? I'd say, Read my pin.' Butterflies meant happy, bees angry. Some were sarcastic, as with the huge bug she wore to meet a Russian diplomat after a Kremlin recording device was found at the U.N. At another meeting with Russians to talk about the antiballistic missile treaty, she wore an arrow, prompting then Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to ask, 'Is that one of your interceptors?' Albright's clever answer: 'Yes, and we know how to make them very small.' ... Albright tells us she's planning a book on her brooches."

The Corsair's own "interceptor," though, is well above average, we cannot fail to relate.



(image via everglo)

Out: Kimberly Stewart Versus Joe Francis. These are two class acts, to be sure. He's famous for making millions off coercing barely-legal/ barely-sober girls into toplessness without ever paying them a fucking cent; and she's famous for -- well, we don't quite know what she's famous for (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), but she's famous. Their humpy B-List love was about as shallow as the shaft of cupid's bow, and when the ties that bond snapped, well -- things got ugly. According to The Lowdown:

"Rod Stewart's son Sean avenged his sister Kimberly on Halloween by dressing up as her ex-boyfriend, 'Girls Gone Wild' promoter Joe Francis. Lowdown hears that the 25-year-old Stewart showed up at Haylie Duff's party in L.A. sporting a shirt that read, 'I love kiddie porn,' along with 'GGW' shorts and baseball cap. Way harsh. 'Sean's costume was, like, the highlight of the party,' says one attendee."

Moreover, according to those intrepid Page Sixxies, the Francis-bashing moved from Duff's party to the Chateau Marmont:

"At the Chateau Marmont earlier this week, the less than subtle Stewart began very audibly raging against Francis, saying dating him was a big lapse in judgment. 'It was as if she wanted everyone in the room to hear her,' says one observer, who adds that Stewart went on to accuse Francis of planting the pictures of Paris Hilton and Stavros Niarchos. 'Kimberly said that Joe always does this. He invites people to his island and then rats them out to the paparazzi, so his place looks like it's so hip.' Elliot Mintz, a spokesman for Stewart, says 'she confirms that her friendship with Joe was not the wisest decision she's ever made, but says she didn't accuse him of plant ing those pictures.' Tell that to the 20 people within earshot."



(image via ultragrrrl)

In: The Paper Magazine Nightlife Awards. Bloggers Karenplusone and Ultragrrrl, AKA The Tarts of Pleasure, made out like bandits at the Paper Magazine mightlife awards. According to the ubiquitous Faran Krentcil at Fashionweekdaily:

"Since the awards honored 'the culture, evolution, and fun' of New York Nightlife � at least according to Paper founder David Herchkovitz � nearly all of the guests had a stake in who took home the coveted Bloated Baby statues, designed by Kid Robot especially for the night.

�'I think there�s going to be a rumble!' laughed Kenny Kenny, as The MisShapes took the first award � for Best Party � and almost everyone exploded in wild applause.

"And while Amy Sacco graciously received her award for Bette by thanking 'all the kids who work so hard for me and do an incredible job running the place,' some speeches were less than sweet � like when Thom Filicia told a Chanel-clad Tinsley Mortimer, 'the only thing your outfit needs is a�' It�s not even worth repeating."

Damn.

"Some guests were stunned by the clean sweep of a luminous Ultragrrrl, aka Sarah Lewitinn. The novice DJ and popular blogger beat out The Trinity to win Best New Promoter, and also swept the People�s Choice Awards for her Stolen Transmission party, a jam-packed bash at Orchard Bar she runs with best friend Karen Plus One. Alone, it�s impossible to find Karen�s last name; together, the duo are called The Tarts of Pleasure. "



(image via skyturnonline)

Out: LeAnne DeVette. Couldn't you see this one coming? Nepotism ... doesn't work. Siblings allow all sorts of things -- like jumping up and down on Auntie Oprah's couch -- that ought not to be allowed. According to Defamer:

" Tom Cruise has finally thrown publisister LeAnne DeVette under the couch, replacing her with professional PR firm Rogers and Cowan. (Come on, did you think Cruise was going to go crawling back to Pat Kingsley?)"

We did. Stop harshing on our mellow. Call us naive, but we actually envisioned a whole Hollywood reconcilliation scene replete with Mimi Rogers and Nic Kidman, but we did not forsee this whole, dark complicated Indie ending.



(image via sfgate)

In: Larry Kramer. CBS Digital President Larry Kramer, a man with whom we have an unnatural blog-obsession (The restraining order keeps us on our toes), is considering a partnership with ... Apple. According to Rafat Ali, "CBS is in talks with Apple for video downloads to iPod... Larry Kramer said a partnership with Apple is a strong possibility as long as the 'economic proposal is fair enough.'"

You do your thing, Lar; you do your thing.

Kate's Post Rehab Ibiza Photo Shoot



(image via newsoftheworld)

It's almost like a postmodern Preminger movie set in a post-Apocalyptic future ruled by the Id-directed Arnold Schwarzenegger. (The Corsair pops open some of "the fizzy") A supermodel gets caught in a backstage cocaine video, and her modeling contracts disintegrate along with the dodgy relationship with her ex rent-boy, crackheaded manwhore. Post-rehab, what's the waifish supermodel to do? Why -- Roberto Cavalli (cue: cheesy Italian catwalk music), of course. Sashay, shantay! According to the extremely downmarket NewsoftheWorld:

"The supermodel checked out of the �2,000-a-night Meadows Clinic in Arizona just over a week ago following a month of treatment for her cocaine habit.

"And on Tuesday she returned to work on this modelling shoot in Ibiza after flying in secretly from the States.

"This preview shot from Roberto Cavalli's spring and summer collection 2006 shows the 31-year-old back at her best

"... Kate is staying in a luxury villa there with her daughter Lila, three. The model and her 30-strong entourage were driven to the island's most picturesque spots for the shoot.

"A source close to the star said: 'Since coming out of rehab Kate has been offered loads of contracts and has been flying around Europe doing various shoots.

"'Kate has a busy workload over the next six weeks in Los Angeles, New York and Paris.'"

The full story here.

A Little of the Old In and Out

(image via CTV via AP Photo/NBC Universal Photo, Mitchell Haddad)

In: The West Wing. NBC's West Wing is, arguably, the smartest show on TV -- quite possibly the smartest show ever. This Sunday they have their live debate pitting the flawed saint Santos (played by character actor Jimmy Smits) versus the conflicted and honorable but caught-between-The-Evangelicals-and-a-hard-place, Vinick (played by character-actor Alan Alda). Oh, It's on like Gray Poupon; for the few of us, at least, who still go in for good television.

Sure, TWW has this season underutilized it's core-cast, Donna, Leo, Toby and even President Bartlett, to focus on the mounting competition between Santos and Vinick, and, ancillary to that, the wonderful, understated intensity of Democratic Party attack dog -- so out of character, this -- Janeane Garafalo? Says TheMerc of it all:

"The debate episode comes at a critical time for the Emmy-winning 'West Wing,' now in its seventh season. While the series has been enjoying a creative renaissance with the fierce, cleverly drawn presidential campaign between Vinick and Santos -- and such topical story lines as the recent one about leaks inside the White House -- it is staggering in the Nielsen ratings since a September move to Sunday nights.

"Faced with intense competition in its new time period, the show has seen its audience drop from 11 million viewers to fewer than 8 million. The show is taking enough of a beating that after Sunday's episode, NBC will take it off the schedule for the rest of November sweeps.

"At the same time, it has been eclipsed in the public mind by `Commander in Chief,' ABC's new and less sophisticated Oval Office drama that has become a top 10 hit despite implausible plot lines and broadly drawn moments that are laughably unrealistic.

"While NBC and the producers hope the live episode will give the show's ratings a badly needed jolt, executive producer John Wells says the debate is just another example of `The West Wing' trying `to say what we wish our politics were.'

"Wells contends that `to even call our current presidential debates 'debates' is stretching the term,'' since all the elements -- questions, format -- are 'so pre-negotiated' that they take the life out of the head-to-head meetings."

(image via jewishmetrowestnj.org)

Out: New Jersey Politics. We have never seen a race so goddamned filthy. $70 million worth of untreated sleaze may be too much for even the environmentally-challenged land of Jersey. Utterly abominable is the New Jersey Governor's race in these final, gooey days -- even by the low standards set by Garden State politics. The candidate Jebby Bush in his first unsuccessful run for Governor in Florida, silenced a debate hall once by asking then-Governor Lawton Chiles, "Have you no shame, Governor?"

Have Doug Forester and Jon Corzine no shame? Frankly, as sleazy and compromized as John Corzine has become -- fucking the saucy Union boss behind the back of his now ex-wife; forgiving said possibly-useful-in-the-future Boss-lady's $470,000 loan -- but Forester's introduction of Corzine's estranged and obviously still emotionally-bruised wife's assessment of the situation into his campaign commercials in the home-stretch of the election is ... a new low. Just fucking disgusting, to tell you the truth. And, quite frankly, the coverage of those gossipy remarks by The Old Gray Lady was striking. Don't get The Corsair wrong, we are not judging -- we love gossip, we engage in gossip daily; but it just seemed like an ... odd angle for the New York Times to be in. Very, very odd indeed. Now someone -- Corzine operatives? -- is pressing a Forrester-Miss New Jersey allegation.

Remember the Newsweek cover of the '88 Bush-Dukakis race where the two of them were depicted as overgrown babies throwing mud? Well, the Corzine-Forrester race makes that one look like a superlative example of gentlemanly democratic competition by comparison. Are sex scandals open-game for Jersey politics post-McGreevey? According to Drudgie Poo, who, we suppose, knows about getting a little mud on the helmet (Averted Gaze):

"New Jersey Public Radio & Television aired a report Friday night in which New Jersey Democratic Candidate for Governor Jon Corzine was grilled about whether a staffer he allegedly had an affair with -- had an abortion. NJN News� Michael Aron reported Friday: 'The press is interested right now in personal conduct. Corzine was asked about a persistent rumor that he had an affair with a staffer whom the reporter identified by name.'

"Sen. Jon Corzine: 'A, not true. B, I�m not going to comment on the kind of, I think, low, guttural politics that�s going on over and over in this state, and I think the ad that was talked about was just symptomatic of that.'

"NJN�s Michael Aron: 'He was asked about a rumor that the same staffer had an abortion in Ohio.

"Reporter: 'Can you respond to those rumors that are circulating?'

"Corzine: 'Trash.'"

Indeed.

Save the robots. (image via style)

In: Tom Ford. While we have certain grave misgivings about Tom Ford's unceremonious return to a battlefield that he's already conquered (What's there left to prove? That gladiatorial fundament has been traversed and routed. Never move backwards, we say. And, lastly -- What the fuck is up with The Nekkid Fembots? Huh?), there is no mistaking his massive influence on the world of fashion. Tom Ford is like the head cheerleader of that High School of High Fashion. According to Fashionweekdaily:

"Wednesday night�s Elton John AIDS Foundation benefit was yet another gathering of fashion�s elite. From Valentino�who allegedly left because he was seated too close to the door�to Donna Karan, Kenneth Cole, and Karolina Kurkova, Cipriani Wall Street was brimming with the finest couture and gents in their best eveningwear.

"While Karl Lagerfeld chatted with Est�e Lauder�s John Demsey on the red carpet (could a fragrance deal be in the works?), the real scene-stealer was Tom Ford, who attended the posh dinner and performance, that his former company, the Gucci Group, was a silver sponsor of."

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



A mind is a terrible thing to baste. (image via thecobrasnake)



"(Pfft!) I find it bold ... yet unpretentious." (image via thecobrasnake)



Wonder Twin Powers: ACTIVATE -- form of ... Munchies! (image via thecobrasnake)



Not seen in picture: Fergie's super-ass absorbent Huggies. (REUTERS/Nacho Doce)

The Kennedy Horse Incident



(image via timeinc)

Letitia Baldridge, who was Social Secretary to President John Kennedy and Chief of Staff to Jackie O, knows how to be discrete. Now that all the principals involved have died, Baldridge can reveal that Jackie Kennedy was a bit ... "tricky" (Like when she used the White House to acquire that Virginia hunt country estate). Pretty women are particularly tricky, as they've usually spent a lifetime getting what they want. And so: Re Jackie O this, from a recentepisode of Index Magazine:

"David Savage: As Social Secretary, one of your other responsibilities at the White House was to help coordinate state dinners. Which was the most memorable?

"Letitia Baldridge: We gave a lavish state dinner at Mount Vernon. It was the first time that George Washington's home had ever been opened for such an event. We had to ship all of the refrigerators and stoves down from Washington. It was in honor of the President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan. Pakistan had recently become our first open ally in the Middle East. The Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, told us we had to really 'do a number' on him, and give him a fantastic state dinner.

"David Savage: What constitutes an 'international incident' involving protocol, and what does the White House Social Secretary do in such a situation?

"Letitia Baldridge: An international incident occurs when either the host or the honored guest is humiliated, and it's reported in their local press. Sometimes you just have to let those situations play themselves out. Sometimes incredible apologies are required. John Kennedy was very aware of what the press would do to him if his wife's frivolities got into the newspapers.

"David Savage: Such as?

"Letitia Baldridge: After the dinner at Mount Vernon, Jackie was given a fantastic Arabian stallion as a gift from Ayub Khan. However, the president and his immediate family are not allowed to accept gifts of such great value, so we had to tell the Pakistani ambassador that we couldn't possibly accept it. But horses meant more to Jackie than people. She got word to President Khan that she would love to receive the horse, so the Air Force flew it into the country in a cargo plane. After it arrived, the Army kept calling, asking what they should do with it. So I went to the President.

"David Savage: How did he react?

"Letitia Baldridge: He blew up. He said, 'This is absolutely terrible. We cannot do this. Find out how much that horse is worth � I'm going to pay the full import duty to bring it into the United States.' So I got on the phone and asked the White House operator to connect me to the Ambassador of Pakistan. She misunderstood and gave me the Ambassador of Afghanistan, a country which was, at the time, the great enemy of Pakistan.

"David Savage: Oh no!

"Letitia Baldridge: I knew him because we played tennis together, but I didn't recognize his voice. When we first got on the phone, he didn't reveal whom he was. He was enjoying it! I kept saying, 'Oh, it's so embarrassing, Mr. Ambassador, we have to find out how much that beautiful horse cost! It's so humiliating!' He said, 'Miss Baldrige, that horse is a nag and is worth nothing. Zero!' And then he started to laugh.

"David Savage: He was enjoying himself!

"Letitia Baldridge: Then the Ambassador said, 'Letitia, don't worry about it. I won't tell anybody if you won't.' After much bickering and bargaining, the Pakistani Ambassador and I decided to post the duty at ten thousand dollars, which was a lot of money in those days. But, in the end, the horse entered the country illegally, and the story was never told."

Until now. The full interview here.

Margaret Cho on Stefani's Harajuku Girls: "Amos 'n Andy had lots of fans, didn't they?"



(image via hyphenmagazine)

Of all the people The Corsair has interviewed, excepting of David Lynch, who is exceptionally strange (But knows his Hegel), Margaret Cho was our favorite. Cho is your typical, outspoken Sagittarius. And today, on her blog, when she compares Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls to Amos 'N Andy she is in rare form. On Margaret Cho's blog (link via Popwatch):

"Gwen Stefani's Harajuku girls have been getting lots of lip service lately, and I have to say I am confused.

"I like Gwen Stefani, she's alright. She is very stylish and has a nice voice and a really flat stomach. She is a rock star, and quite good at it. I am always impressed by her platinum hair and her incredibly organized steamer trunks. She keeps all her wristbands in separate zip-lock bags. I too have lots of nice things, but they are all getting moth eaten and mashed together in a pile on my closet floor. I could never understand the concept of a pair: of shoes, gloves, stockings, earrings, hearts, whatever. How can you possibly keep two separate and entirely whole things together in the crazy whirling world we live in? Anyway, Gwen manages to do it all with great panache.

"Now she has 4 things all together, the Harajuku Girls. I want to like them, and I want to think they are great, but I am not sure if I can. I mean, racial stereotypes are really cute sometimes, and I don't want to bum everyone out by pointing out the minstrel show. I think it is totally acceptable to enjoy the Harajuku girls, because there are not that many other Asian people out there in the media really, so we have to take whatever we can get. Amos 'n Andy had lots of fans, didn't they? At least it is a measure of visibility, which is much better than invisibility. I am so sick of not existing, that I would settle for following any white person around with an umbrella just so I could say I was there."

Whew! Cho is also developing a multigenerational Asian-American comedy script for Fox TV.

A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via burnisongroup)

In: Chris Matthews. Chris Matthews' Hardball, recently featured on the incredible new season of The West Wing, is like crack-cocaine to Washington Insiders. So much so, that when Matthews took to attacking Ahmed Challabi's $300,000 position on the US government payroll nightly, Chalabbi instantly became persona non grata among the neocons. That's juice.

Matthews has been mentioned as being a part of the Libby indictment, indirectly. But his true role in the dramatis personae of Washington's upcoming Trail of the Century is opaque. Intrepid reporter Michael Smerconish of the Philadelphia Daily News asked Chris if Tim Russert called him directly after that fateful discussion with Libby. Matthews said no. The clever Smerconish then asked if Russert had "ever had any conversation with Russert where Russert told him that Libby had a beef with him." Here's the Matthewsesque answer (link via poynter):

"He hedged a bit. Here's my transcription of what Chris Matthews told me:

"Well, let me just tell you this, without getting into that, because I know the answer generally to your question, is that, because all of this involves testimony that Russert is probably going to have to make, and let me just tell you this, that those people in the White House, especially Libby and the vice president, working as a team, 'connected as a root,' to use Libby's favorite phrase, basically pulled off an alley-oop play to get us into war in Iraq by feeding to the New York Times stories about nuclear potential in the hands of Saddam Hussein, to get it into the Sunday paper, and then deploying the vice president on 'Meet the Press' and other administration officials like Condi Rice on the other Sunday talk shows in a kinda alley-oop play.

"So they put the ball in the air, and then on Sunday mornings, these guys put it in the basket, and then all of a sudden we're at war over Iraq because a lot of Americans in the middle politically say, 'I don't know how we're getting into that mess or why we're getting in it, but I guess we have to protect ourselves against a mushroom cloud,' that is Condi's phrase.

"So, having pulled this masterful move of moving the undecided middle into the war, they then became very sensitive to the charge by Joseph Wilson that they had done the very thing, pushed the nuclear button and then covered up any threat to that nuclear button, and Wilson was that threat, and then, going volcanic against anybody including me, who dared to say, 'Wait a minute, there is a pattern here of how we got into the war, and how they promoted the nuclear case and how they protected the nuclear case against Wilson.'

"'They didn't like me doing that. I know that a number of administration officials were screaming at my network at all levels about me raising this issue, the very points I've just made. They don't like hearing it, Libby is in trouble now because he doesn't like hearing it, the vice president is very much a part of this, and the answer to your question is that you are on the right trail, Michael."

"What does all that mean? To me, that Russert may not have called Matthews immediately after hanging up with Libby, but he did tell his colleague of that call, which doesn't bode well for Libby." Full story here (free subscription required).



Queen Noor and Meggers. (image via nysocialdiary)

Out: Meg Ryan. We know that missing-in-action Hollywood actress Meg Ryan occasionally gets a hankering to appear somewhat brainy, or at least put herself in the company of people who actually think for a living. Remember how she toted Newsweek's Howard Fineman as requisite arm-candy to the White House Correspondent's Dinner last year? Well, Meggers is at it again. According to our favorite social chronicler David Patrick Columbia in NYSocialDiary:

"On Tuesday, Her Majesty Queen Noor and the King Hussein Foundation International held an Inaugural Peace-Builders Dinner and awarded the 6th Annual King Hussein Leadership Prize at the Harold Pratt House, also the headquarters of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.

"The black tie evening featured a dialogue among notable global leaders on leadership and peace-building with a focus on human security. H.E. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, President Bill Clinton, H.E. Mr. Ghassan Salame, Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris and Senior Advisor to the UN Secretary General as well as a former Lebanese Minister of Culture, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University in Washington DC and former High Commissioner of Pakistan and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, Chairman of Concordia BV, as well as other distinguished personalities with Charlie Rose moderating."

(A considerable pause) Always Charlie Rose ...

"Among the attendees were ... The Honorable William Cohen and Janet Cohen, Ambassador Daniel Gillerman ... Rabbi Irwin Kula, HRH Prince Firas, Walter Isaacson, H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Mary Robinson, Meg Ryan"

Which one of these names is not like the others?



(image via booksandmoviesandmore)

In: Michael Korda. The legendary Michael Korda is stepping down from Simon and Schuster. According to Sarah at Mediabistro:

"The news that the publishing giant would be stepping down as editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster -- a post he's had for almost fifty years -- seems like a good time to reflect on who he is, what he's done and what he's written.

" ... some of the current roster include Sandra Brown, Mary Higgins Clark, Brad Geagley, Larry McMurtry and David McCullough. But Korda had a knack of picking presidents to edit, like Richard Nixon, Charles de Gaulle and Ronald Reagan. He edited early works by Philip Roth, Joan Didion, and Graham Greene as well as more popular types like Harold Robbins and Jacqueline Susann, for whom he secured a $250,000 advance (in the late 60s!) for the novel that would follow up THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS based on a few napkin scribblings.

"... Which brings us to perhaps the weirdest footnote in Korda's life concerns his only son. Chris Korda, who [sic] is a "cross-dressing vegetarian and theoretical cannibal who insists on being referred to as 'she'" serving as a Reverend of the 'Church of Euthanasia'. Korda was so livid about the publicity about his child's activities that his lawyer ordered Chris/Chrissy 'to either stop giving interviews or adopt a pseudonym until Michael retires from Simon & Schuster.' So since that day's here...will interviews suddenly show up?"

We hope so. Anyway, farewell Michael Korda.



(image via islandconnection)

Out: Jeff Zucker. Oh, Zucky, Zucky; poor Jeff! (The Corsair sips a 2001 Baron de Brane Margeaux) Observing the quagmire that is NBC is not unlike gawking at a particularly sanguinary car crash. One cannot help the luckless pedestrian, and one cannot quite bring oneself from averting ... the ... gaze. Medialifemagazine, which has made a postmodern art form out of tasteful "NBC-hadenfreude," tells it like it is:

"One might think NBC couldn�t sink any lower from its onetime dominance in the ratings and ad revenue.

"It can and has. Nielsen data for the new broadcast season reveal the network is now suffering its biggest and potentially most devastating humiliation.

"NBC is losing hold of the affluent viewers that advertisers most prize.

"Through the first six weeks of the new season, ABC has surpassed NBC in reaching adults 25-54 in homes with household incomes of $100,000 or more. And it has matched NBC in the percentage of its audience that falls into this group. That is according to an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data released this week by Magna Global.

"NBC had been the dominant network in reaching affluent viewers for decades, which was a key reason it was the most lucrative network for most of the past 20 years."

The Carolyn Murphy Sex Tape



(image via models.com)

2005 Sports Illustarted covergirl Carolyn Murphy's sex tape is in the bumper -- no pun intended. According to RadarOnline:

"... Shot over 17 days during Murphy and Schroeder�s 1999 Barbados honeymoon, the two-hour tape is said to feature the sun-kissed stunner getting acrobatic with the heavily tattooed Schroeder. (A motion picture epic compared with your average celebrity slutfest, that still averages out to a mere 7.0588 minutes of conjugal bliss per 24-hour period. No wonder she left him.)"

"... Sal Abate, owner of ICG�which operates a suite of celebrity porn sites�confirmed that his company has been approached by an 'unnamed source' with the tape but said any deal to distribute it is contingent on the outcome of the Farrell case, which could be resolved as early as next month. (Just in time for Christmas!)

�'Right now things are looking very good in our favor,' Abate said of the courtroom showdown. 'We�re going to really open the floodgates in terms of legal recourse'"

And, of course, floodgates in terms of digital release.

Jon Stewart Just Says No To Infinity Radio



(image via iwantmedia)

Granted, Jon Stewart still has his six-figure big-ass speaking fees and "The Daily Show" scrilla to fall back on, but he still turned down a boatload of millions to replace Howard Stern. Why?According to Lee Margulies of the Los Angeles Times (link via iwantmedia):

"During a visit to 'The Howard Stern Show' Wednesday morning, comedian Jon Stewart confirmed that Stern's bosses at Infinity Broadcasting had approached him about taking over for the shock jock when he leaves his syndicated morning show for satellite radio.The host of 'The Daily Show' said he wasn't interested because it didn't make sense having his first radio job be 'replacing the preeminent radio personality of your generation.'"

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



From here on out, things are going to be happening fast. (image via thecobrasnake)



"Please, Mr. Tyson, don't eat my face .." (image via thecobrasnake)



This look says to me Louis le Quatorze Meets Fred "Rerun" Berry. Uncompromising, yet doomed repeat the eleventh grade with Raj and Dwayne. (image via thecobrasnake)



Exclusive: From Andre Leon-Talley's private photo stash. (image via thecobrasnake)



When The First Wives Club collectively rub their legs together and ululate, it means a millionaire bachelor has just entered the room. (image via NYSocialDiary)



Better take it easy on the cottage cheese, Pops. It goes straight to your bust. (image via thecobrasnake)

Ice T on Omarosa: "That bitch is not supposed to be famous"



(image via jlingo)

While we'd rather Ice T complete the long-awaited David Hasselhoff collabo (allegedly entitled "Hassel the Hoff"), we can't say we entirely disagree with his overall assessment of sassy celebreality "star," Omarosa. According to Lloyd Grove:

"Rapper Ice-T tossed scary insults and even a threat at reality-TV she-devil Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth during Heidi Klum's ghoulish gala.

"'I'll tell you who I don't like: Omarosa,' the 'Law & Order: SVU star told Lowdown as he sat upstairs at nightspot Happy Valley in - what else? - pimp regalia. 'That b- is not supposed to be famous. Being somebody in the business, you have a lot of admiration for people because you know how hard they work. But certain people, you're just like, what the f- has that ho done?'"

And that's coming from a former pimp, so you know he knows his 'ho's. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment) The next question, though, from Lloyd Grove, comes from the crab nebulae or some such cosmic left field thereabouts:

" ... What if he and Lady O were to, um, settle their differences in the sack?

"'I wouldn't wish that on a zombie,' Ice-T replied stonily, rubbing the fishnet-stocking-clad leg of his generously endowed wife, Nicole (Coco) Austin."

Fellini couldn't have scripted that last part better.

A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via symphonyspace)

In: Stephen Colbert. At some point we should all start calling Comedy Central The Daily Show Writer's Channel just as we, once-upon-a-time, called it The Dave Chappelle Channel (Doesn't it seem like only yesterday ...?). Clearly, the Daily Show writers exert some serious muscle at the cable channel. Their muscularity is in evidence moreso because Comedy Central has reupped with "The Colbert Report." According to the the press release:

"Open wide, baby bird, because mama has got a big fat night crawler of good news. COMEDY CENTRAL has extended 'The Colbert Report' through 2006 from its initial eight-week run, it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president, original programming and development.

"'In two short weeks The Colbert Report has seamlessly paired itself with The Daily Show to form one of the smartest and funniest hours of television and has cemented COMEDY CENTRAL's position as the preeminent destination in late-night,' said Corrao. 'My job becomes a lot less complicated when I can rely on such a talented and creative team as Stephen Colbert, Ben Karlin and Jon Stewart and they give back the gift that is 'The Colbert Report.' Giving the show a full-year order was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made in my career.'"

That's cable network love, yo.



Portrait of the punk-ass as a young man. (image via my brilliant blog wife)

Out: Stavros Niarchos. It is hard to imagine a maneuver more asshole-esqu in execution than the following. But Stavros has skillz. He is a true prick. According to those intrepid Page Sixxies: "PARIS Hilton plaything Stavros Niarchos III is some kind of class act. After he fueled up at L.A.'s Element club the other night, the Greek shipping heir and a posse of pals stopped at Burger King. 'Stavros offered a homeless man outside $100 to dump a soda on himself,' a source squealed to Us Weekly. The desperate bum took the payout 'and everyone laughed,' reports the source. This one's a keeper, Paris!"

Altogether now: What a dick.



Whose his daddy? (image via Nysocialdiary)

In: The Ten-Week Old Jack Russell Terrier. Whither the fate of this cute 10-week old Jack Russell Terrier? The wonderful Rachel Sklar's "The Littlest Hobo" mention on FishbowlNY yesterday got me thinking about my years as a Canadian diplobrat in an earlier incarnation. It also got me thinking about the ancient and sweet collaboration between dogs and humans.

It should have been a seemless Halloween auction. Martin Short was the celebrity auctioneer. Big money, like Yoko Ono, Lally Weymouth, Annette de la Renta, Glenn Close, Mariah Carey and Ahmet and Mica Ertegun were in attendance. There was a cute dog. What could go wrong? According to our favorite social chronicler David Patrick Columbia in NYSocialDiary:

"Martin Short, who as his alter ego Jiminy Glick conducted the auction ... The biggest auction item of the night turned out to be the tiniest creature in the room � a ten-week-old Jack Russell terrier who�d come up from San Antonio, Texas, in the hands of his breeder Brooke Negley (daughter of frequent NYSD persona Nancy Holmes). Bidding for her outdid the 'backstage with the Rolling Stones' package, and the gavel came down at $15,000 for the little cutie.

"Then, right afterwards, someone else in the audience (who shall remain nameless for the time being) offered to pay $20,000 for the pup. So the previous bidder ($15,000) signed off. Then, when the show and the night was over, the bigger bidder disappeared without leaving a name or a check. Big spender, big guy, that he was (not).

"Yesterday morning, no one knew where the dog was going or who was going to take her. The $15,000 bidder also signed off. The last I heard, an earlier bidder, actor Tony Danza ($8000) might take her.This is what I hate about auctioning off animals at charity events. The jerk who bid 20 grand was obviously showing off and the previous bidder was so easily dissuaded from staying with his original purchase that one can only wonder where his true heart lay. Which means ... as for the dog�s future ... who knows? Which means neither of those people was thinking of the animal, the life. If I had their names and pictures I�d post �em just so you could see what a couple of goofballs look like ... Jerks playing Mr. Big."

Anyone who knows who the bidder was can email me at: papermag@yahoo.com.



(image via emi.fi)

Out: The Beastie Boys Film. While we have a certain soft spot in our hearts for the Beastie Boys, whose satirical urban rhythms served as the general theme music of our youthful indiscretions in the late 80s (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), paying good money to go see a documentary shot by fans of a Beastie concert in 2005 is ... well, its not our idea of a quality time (Averted Gaze). Don't get The Corsair wrong: We appreciate the exhuberant experimentality of it all, but a concert is one thing, and a fan-shot documentary of a concert a year old is a different kettle of fish alogether. We're not sure we'd even watch such a doc if it came on IFC (Or, more likely, Al Gore's buzz-challenged "Current TV") if it came on for free. According to Indiewire:

"A new Beastie Boys performance doc, shot by their fans and directed by the band's Adam Yauch, a.k.a. M.C.A. (using the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower), has been nabbed by THINKFilm. The movie, dubbed 'Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That,' features footage filmed by 50 fans at a Madison Square Garden concert. THINKFilm has acquired all worldwide rights to the movie. They are eyeing a Spring '06 release, after what they said will be 'significant festival presentations early next year.'

"'I'm glad that the film has found a home with THINK,' said the Beastie's Yauch/M.C.A./Hornblower in s statement, 'Shit has been bubbling for a minute and now THINK is gonna light a match.' The company's theatrical division head Mark Urman added, 'Awesome' is the only word that can describe the experience of watching this film.'"

Whatever.



Lagerfeld and a well-mantanned Valentino vamp. (image via fashionweekdaily/Patrick McMullen)

In: Karl Lagerfeld, Closing Out FashionWeek? Will The Gloved One -- He who once sustained himself off a diet of Diet Coke and horsemeat (2nd item) -- close out FashionWeek come February? According to fashionweekdaily:

"Karl Lagerfeld�s New York plans are crystallizing by the day. First he confirmed to The Daily his plan to present his fall/winter 2006 Lagerfeld Gallery collection show in New York. Now he�s confirmed a date and time. The Lagerfeld Gallery show will take place on Feb. 10 at 8pm. That choice of day and time ensures Lagerfeld the likelihood that he will close New York Fashion Week, thus joining the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani, both of whom have held what seems to have become the most coveted spot the last two years."

That is, of course, unless Naomi Campbell decides to -- at the last possible minute -- upstage everything.

Sean McManus" "I'll point to Roone Arledge"



(image via cbssportsline)

It looks like incoming CBS News President Sean McManus, who has network reporting in his blood, will not only be looking to legendary news executive Roone Arledge for guidance, but he will be zeroing-in on the role of on-air talent in attempting to bring CBS from third to first place in the ratings. According to TVGuide's The Biz (link via Romenesko):

"TVGuide.com: So what will the biggest priority be at your new job?

"McManus: First, to think about what the format of the CBS Evening News should be. I'm not as concerned by what it's going to look like six months from now as by how it will look six years from now. I'm going to approach it aggressively, but I'd rather take my time and not make a mistake. I don't know if it's going to be one anchor, multiple anchors or an ensemble cast. I've thought a lot about it but don't have any answers at the moment.

"Second, nurturing and attracting the best talent � something I think I've done pretty well at CBS Sports � people who weren't here when I got here [include] Dick Enberg, Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms. I'd like to do the same thing at CBS News so that it's the place where the best talent wants to work. I want to invigorate the place. I'm not happy about being in third place in anything in life, and the fact that the CBS Evening News is in third place and The Early Show is in third place does not make me happy.... Ratings in news move glacially, but I have to believe that if we put on a better product in those time periods, then more people will watch.

"TVGuide.com: However, when you pursue the National Football League and the NCAA basketball tournament, they are going to get predictably good ratings. News talent moving from one network to another is not always a sure thing.

"McManus: No. But I'll point to Roone Arledge. At ABC he was nowhere on Sunday morning, and he hired someone who had been put out to pasture, David Brinkley, and put him with George Will, Cokie Roberts and Sam Donaldson and created the most successful Sunday-morning show on the air. He took an 11:30 time period, took a man named Ted Koppel, who was not a star, and made him a star, and made Nightline an institution. He took Barbara Walters and put her on 20/20 and made it an enormous hit. He took Peter Jennings and made him a star on World News Tonight. He got Diane Sawyer for Primetime Live and for specials. If you get the right talent and put them on the right programs, you'll create hits. You're right � the difference between sports and news is that with sports you can go out and buy ratings. You can't do that in news because there is no proprietary coverage. The only thing that distinguishes you is your on-air coverage and you're on-air talent. So if you do a good job in both of those, you can maintain and improve upon an already good division. It's doable. It's not easy.

Two words with regards to on-air talent advice: David Duchovny. Don't laugh. Well, okay, laugh, chuckle softly, call The Corsair "crazy" under your breath, shoot some hate email to papermag@yahoo.com, then, finally, get all the belated Zoolander references out of the way before we continue. Done?

Now listen: We are not just being provocative by making this suggestion. Is this really so far-fetched? Is this as far-fetched as, say, floating "The Naked News" accidentally-on-purpose (It's called, we believe, "lowering expectations"; but, all-in-all, it seems more Freudian, no?)? Is this David Duchovny thought-experiment as far-fetched as promoting the CBS Sports President to CBS News President? Okay, alright, overreach: The last part wasn't so far-fetched, but, still, hear us out.



The face of CBS Evening News? (image via, ironically, untruenews)

Granted (The Corsair pours himself a glass of very dry Sherry), Duchovny is not David Brinkley, and never will be -- but who in the world would watch a David Brinkley nowadays, in 2005, after a hard days work and the myriad digital distractions like video games, porn and the web? The days of The Wise Men are, essentially, over (We are breaking no new ground here in saying that). No one looks to the network anchors as quasi-Oracular News dieties (And when they did, back-in-the-day, they did so because there was no competition -- the networks were, essentially, 3-way mini news monopolies)

Network anchors today read the Teleprompter well, appear smart and -- most importantly -- do wonders with a can of hairspray. The last part is the strongest recommendation for an anchor. Remember: The anchors are not the correspondents who actually report the news and break stories -- an anchor is essentially a shows "host," the face. Todays anchor and the anchor of tomorrow should the institution continue will be to be one part voice of credibility and one part glamour, in essence: the smart celebrity.

Need we remind you that Jon Stewart's name has been floated for CBS News? Now, Is Duchovny's name so much more "preposterous" than Stewarts? The legwork will always be done by the hardcore correspondents, the war-zone reporters, the White House press room junkies, the gloriously driven Christianne Amanpour-types; Duchovny as anchor will simply serve it all up and be the face of the evening news, introducing the correspondents and, occasionally, asking smart background on their storymaking process.

Of course, cranky, apoplectic media-purists will raise an unholy outcry on Romenesko Letters should Duchovny ever get his shot ("infidel ... pretty boy ... ACTOR!" "Murrow is ... is ... spinning in his grave!!"), but who the fuck do they think will get ratings anyway? John Roberts? Please. (Averted Gaze) That's so 1957. American society, aided nightly by our infusion of The Daily Show is already at a post-bland white guy reading the news stage. And if they want to cry about Edward R. Murrow why don't they give PBS' superior Frontline the ratings? The elegant, member-supported PBS is now the proper medium for that kind of unrealistic idealism. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting doesn't have to answer to frustrated advertisers or irate shareholders.

We secretly believe that the News Purists are entirely oblivious to the imperatives of TV ratings and shareholders; they simply believe that money and summer houses on Martha's Vinyard grow on Abstract Disembodied Network News Principles, and a network should continue to support the News on valuable network real estate out of one part Noblesse Oblige, one part homage to their parents (See specifically: George Clooney) and, lastly, nostalgia for the beloved memory of Walter Cronkite's Years. Clearer heads ought to prevail, chiming in, duly: A celebrity network news anchor does not mean the End of News. Stop getting hysterical. A decline in the quality of correspondents in the field would mean the End of Network News; the disintegration of top shelf producers would mean the End of Network News -- an anchor is just an anchor.

Today's anchor is simply not as important -- and will never again will be as important -- as Walter Cronkite, pre 24/7 cable news coverage.

Duchovny can do all of the regular on-air anchor things, plus bring in a younger, smarter demographic as well as approach the Teleprompter reading from from an edgier angle. No one -- no one uunder 70, at least -- sits at 6:30 before the Evening News Gods like they did even when The Corsair was a kid.

Would Duchovny be open to do this? It would, of course, typecast him forever and effectively kill his career in Hollywood as an actor. Not that there's much going on there anyway -- no offense intended. But we suspect that something this novel and loaded with gravitas and prestige would appeal to Duchovny.

It would be one wild experiment, no? Holla back.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



L'espirit descalier: Damn, Nice tits! (image via thecobrasnake)



The Zapatista-rebel-peasant effect was entirely sabotaged by the costume-wearers insistence on fine tobacco and bluetooth technology. (image via thecobrasnake)



Life, unlike the UPS, affords unorthodox opportunities to "reroute packages." (image via thecobrasnake)



Wigger, please! (image via thecobrasnake)



How was this luckless hipster supposed to know that the ultraviolent-response triggerword for that Black-ops secret assassin was "... Ama-aazing"? (image via thecobrasnake)

A Little of the Old In and Out


(image via mcraeclan)

In: Lions Gate. There's a lot of media love for Lions Gate Films, which is being described, lovingly, as "small," and "scrappy." Awww: The little studio that could. It just doesn't get any hotter than Lion's Gate Films. According to TheReeler:

"Last weekend's stunning $30.5 million opening for Saw II has the film world chattering again about red-hot indie Lions Gate Film--in particular, about the unparalleled prowess the indie demonstrates in just about everything it tries these days. From green-lighting to acquisitions to marketing, writes the L.A Times Patrick Goldstein, LGF is stomping on convention and beating heavyweights like the MPAA and, most famously, Disney (rememeber Fahrenheit 9/11?) at their own games.

"... after scoring about a 550 percent profit on Saw II, LGF's bank statements are finally outvoicing its press statements."



The Trousersnake, yesterday, at Marqee. (image via hello!magazine/Rex)

Out: Justin Timberlake. Egos are a difficult thing to navigate generally -- it is so much more so in Hollywood, the world's capitol of egotism, than anywhere else. Just resign, Justin Trousersnake -- Resign! (The Corsair pours himself a glass of the black wine of Cahors, elixir of Popes) According to RadarOnline (link via Defamer):

"We hear that DreamWorks employees working on the third installment of the hugely profitable franchise are frightened that Cameron Diaz�s pop-star boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, is ruining the movie.

"The trouble began when DreamWorks execs asked Diaz�the voice of Fiona�if she had any ideas for the role of the Princess�s long-lost relative King Arthur, whom Shrek teaches to be a monarch. Before they could say 'Just kidding!,' the actress immediately pushed for Timberlake�a suggestion the studio didn�t think it could refuse, we�re told."

(A considerable pause) Jesus. Can you just see where this is heading?

�'The problem is that the plot of the movie basically rides on the back of this Artie character [the young King Arthur], and DreamWorks was having a helluva time casting it, trying to find the right young actor with the right voice,' says a source close to the studio. 'But after they made the mistake of mentioning it to Cameron, they were backed into a corner­. They needed her, so to keep her happy, they had to go with Justin. But when he came in to record he was just awful. Every other time they�ve brought on a new character�like Antonio Banderas or Rupert Everett�they�ve added to the mix. Timberlake is just a liability.'"

Reason number 7,673 why The Corsair doesn't invest in Hollywood studios (The other 7,000-odd involve the lack of funds), where hundred-million dollar-plus management decisions can be held hostage to .. fragile celebrity egos.



(image via infoimagination)

In: Arianna Huffington Versus Tim Russert. "Beat the Press?" Ceding the broken, fetid carcass that was once Judith Miller's journalistic career to Maureen Dowd, Arianna Huffington has moved on to juicier prey, namely, that alpha-male of the Washington press corps, one: Tim Russert. According to HuffPo (link via Romenesko):

"After reading today's New York Times story on Tim Russert, I had to go back and check the byline to make sure that the piece had really been written by Todd Purdum and not the NBC publicity department.

"Ostensibly a story about Russert's role in Plamegate, the piece is more hagiography than reportage.

"Purdum paints a number of different portraits of Russert. All of them glowing.

"We get the High Priest of Journalism, who 'now wields as much influence as any single working journalist in Washington' -- and to whom 'the cream of Washington officialdom presents itself for confession.'

"We get the two-fisted truth seeker, a 'newshound' 'who may be the capital's most intimidating interlocutor outside a courtroom or Congress.'

"We get the devout and self-sacrificing Choir Boy-Monk, who 'never goes out on Saturday nights, preferring to attend the 4 p.m. Catholic Mass at Georgetown University Hospital chapel before preparing for his program.'

"... What we don't learn is whether anyone has been critical of the way Russert has handled the Plamegate story."

-- Oh, it's on ... it's on like Gray Poupon. Story here.



Out: Neocons Verus Realists.We've finally gotten around to Jeffrey Goldberg's magnificent New Yorker piece on Brent Scowcroft and his estrangement from Bush 43 (Essentially, a largo variation on the air "Realists-versus-the-Neocons"). The liberal internationalism -- in the form of Richard Holbrooke -- makes a late, ancillary and essentially meaningless appearance in the piece (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), not unlike the role of liberal internationalism in our present existential-geopolitical predicament (Averted Gaze).

This reminds The Corsair of an unheralded but delicious post we did a while ago called "Realpolitik World." It was one of our finest hours, but one that went by unnoticed. Here's a taste:

"This is the true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house and have their lives taped, and find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting REAL. The RealPolitik World (TM)!"

"Scouting For Rooms

"William Kristol (in the confessional): The detention center where we all elected to reside was ... a less than tasteful affair (huffily). And, at the outset, I was kind of apprehensive about living with some real calculating Machiavellian Realists -- me being a Neocon and all -- but, hell, I did graduate studies in the social sciences at Harvard, so, well, how much worse could it be?

"Charles Krauthammer: I found the idea of Neocons living with Realists in full view of the cameras to be a novel idea, a theatrical production clearly cognizant of American willpower. How it would all turn out? Who would have predicted ...

"Francis Fukuyama: It was like eating pineapples on the Moon. (Cracked laughter)

"The members of the entire household avert their gaze from Fukuyama."

More here.



Diana Kamalova, Justin Portman, and Natalia Vodianova. (image via fashionweekdaily/Patrick McMullen)

In: Justin Portman's Avian Bird Flu Costume. (sotto Voce) Genius. We were going to do the rounds of Halloween parties as The Avian Bird Flu, but, as creative as we are, we had no fucking clue as to how to construe such a costume (We went as a Corsair instead). Further, it seemed unsanitary. Justin Portman did, however, manage to put something together, so you've got to give him some love. According to Fashionweekdaily:

"The former Cunard ship building downtown was transformed into a Roman palazzo complete with lemon trees, Cyprus woven pillars, lavish Roman bedroom settings, and custom built terraces and tented lounges. 'I like that it�s rock disco,' noted Tommy Hilfiger as he reveled in the VIP section along with Silas and Celia Chou, Natalia Vodianova and Justin Portman, Joan Juliet Buck, and Lynn Yaeger.

"And it wouldn�t be a Halloween party without a bevy of PYTs, all dressed up for a night out on the town. Fabiola Beracasa was a cigarette girl, her wooden tray holding actual packs of stogies. 'I�ve already sold two packs,' she laughed. Rachel Peters, meanwhile, had a harder time convincing her friends she was a teacher�s pet. �Ok, ok, I�m a sexy secretary now,� she said later, having changed her mind, as she joined Tinsley Mortimer (Rainbow Brite), Dori Cooperman (a devil), Alex Kramer (a sexy referee), and Martina Basabe, whose fur, which she wore as part of her Great Gatsby ensemble, was received by a pan of boos from PETA, which staged a brief protest outside.

"Channeling the current state of affairs was Justin Portman. The other half of Natalia Vodianova came dressed as the bird flu, 'to be of the moment,' he said."

The man has chic. The full party report here.

Halloween Picture Pages, Picture Pages, Cont'd



Punk-ass Ecuadoran racist Fabian Basabe with cocktail and a revolver. Point the gun 45 degrees Northwest and squeeze the trigger and you'll be alright, asshole. (image via NYSocialDiary)



"...Because Mariah needed guidance." (image via Hello!Magazine)



Jason Biggs, The Corsair has been wrestling ... with just how to ask you (The Corsair jostles, nervous) -- Will you, Will you be our Bitch? (image via Hello!Magazine)



800 pound Shrek ogress Cameron Diaz, suffering from a crunk-juice induced cognitive vertigo, tries not to upchuck her candy corns and other untold kaleidescopic-colored foodstuffs. (image via Hello!Magazine)