A Little of the Old In and Out



The Paper gang. (image via fashionweekdaily)

In: Papermag in LA. The gang at my old haunt Papermag have been in LA for a week now, causing mayhem and all sorts of ruckus. According to Fashionweekdaily:

"Paper magazine has finally invaded the Left Coast to produce a special LA issue. Editors Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits flew in an army of writers, editors, stylists, and other talented kids, and set up an office/photography studio/multimedia performance gallery storefront space at ACME in Hollywood. Sponsored by Chrysler, Kodak, Nokia, and Adidas, every second was crackling with creativity and craziness.

"... Future Paper cover girl Bryce Dallas Howard arrived in a long black dress and Stella McCartney shoes (like McCartney, the actress and director Ron Howard�s daughter is a devout vegan). 'This is my prom dress,' Howard confessed, eyeing Kimmel�s sublime, au natural jewelry creations. 'I�m not kidding. I want them to make me a corsage.'

"As guests took their seats, Hastreiter announced, 'I feel like I�ve been on LSD for the past 20 days. This has been such a fun issue to do and we�ll be back next year.' For the main course, waiters passed hamburgers, veggie burgers, fries, and strawberry milkshakes from Fatburger on silver trays. Wolfing down carbs, we spotted China Chow (in Joe�s jeans and a quilted Chanel bag), Francesca Gregorini, DIFFA�s Annelise Estrada, Jerry O�Connell with his arm around girlfriend Rebbeca Romijn, Spike Jones (who is doing a documentary about Maurice Sendak), Juaretsi Saizarbitoria, movie producer Perry Moore, Amanda Demme, Michael Rawson, Jeremy Scott, Jennifer Gross, Danny Masterson and Bijou Phillips, Sarah Sophie Flicker of The Citizens Band, Lo-Fi�s Kelly Cole, Ann Magnuson, Booth Moore of The Los Angeles Times ..."

The full unexpurgated list here.



Tom Ford makes the hair on our arms stand on end, he's so goddamned creepy. (image via towerload via gawker)

Out: Tom Ford, Guest Editor, Vanity Fair. Not content with merely "tarting up" Dakota Fanning and french-kissing mannequins, our favorite controversialist Tom Ford wanted Rachel McAdams bare ass nekkid. (So do we, but we don't hold a position of authority at Conde Nast) Has any "guest editor" -- other than the rather lamentable Kate Moss -- garnered this much attention for a Conde Nast publication? According to RadarOnline:

"We hear flesh-obsessed designer Tom Ford�s gig as guest editor of Vanity Fair�s Hollywood Issue recently hit a kink. Sources close to the glossy say demure rising starlet Rachel McAdams stormed out of a November cover shoot for the annual industry mash note�and fired her publicist�after learning Ford expected her to pose nude.

"According to mag insiders, Ford had prearranged with McAdam�s rep, Wolf Kasteller�s Ame Van Iden, for the in-demand Red Eye actress to appear naked in a group portrait of Hollywood�s breathtaking beauties-of-the-moment, alongside Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, and others. (We presume the shoot was conceived along the tasteful lines of Herb Ritts� iconic 1989 supermodel ensemble, �Stephanie Cindy Christy Tatjana Naomi�, but considering Ford�s involvement it�s possible to imagine a raunchier scenario.)

"Unfortunately for legions of mouth-breathing McAdams fans, we�re told Van Iden neglected to brief her family-friendly charge�who may have been the only actress in Wedding Crashers to keep all her clothes on�about the concept beforehand. When she arrived on the L.A. set and found out what Ford had in mind, we�re told she turned tail and promptly fired Van Iden."

Was the tail vestigal? Maybe the tail was the reason for the no-nudity clause?



(image via johneffkay)

In: John Eff Kennedy. Last night we were wearing our gifted John Eff Kay tee. It's sick; really and truly it is. How else can you explain a t-shirt with a complicated mathematical graffiti design of the JFK assasination. Thanks, John Eff Kay.

Last night, at our local bar, we took off the sweater to reveal said offensive tee-shirt, only to garner real, intense opprobrium from the older weekday clientele who we gather remember the days of Camelot.

"Why would you even wear a tee-shirt like that?" One said, earnestly, with clear disgust in his eyes.

Isn't that reaction reason enough?

Get the gear here.



(image via irtc.org)

Out: Pinch and Judy. (Special thanks to our favorite Canadian for that title). Are you sick of "Pinch" and the high voltage catlike intensity of Judith Miller? Have you read everything that needs to be read on the subject?

Well, you haven't.

FishbowlNY's Rachel Sklar wraps things up nicely:

"A quote from Howell Raines, blaming Judy's editors (and the NYT for failing to disclose who they were): 'I did not know Judy's sources. At the time, I followed the customary Times practice of relying on the supervising desk editor -- in this case, most often the Washington editor and the foreign editor -- to make sure the sourcing on the stories they handled was correct.' Note that Howell Raines did not respond to Mnookin's request for comment in 'Hard News' (and indeed, refused his outstretched hand the one time they met in public). Note also that although Miller spoke to Auletta she declined to speak to Mnookin for his VF article or for 'Hard News.'Now that both Mnookin and Auletta have tapped their sources on this, what's next for the saga of the NYT?"

More, including our favorite Canadian's compendium of all things Pinch and Judy here.



(image via mykindaplace)

In: Fitty Cent. First rule of Entourages: An Entourage has to earn it's keep. Did Baldasare Catiglioni say that? According to the 3AM Girls:

"THE Parisian babes gave him the brush-off last week, but one little setback could never put ladies' man 50 Cent off his sharking.

"Now he just sends his hangers-on to do it on his behalf...

"The bullet-riddled rapper, 30, dispatched a troop of his most trusted flunkies to a London nightclub on Sunday night - to hand-pick a selection of lovelies for a 'private party'.

"A source 'in da' plush Embassy club reveals: '(50 Cent's) goons pitched up and immediately started scouring the club for talent. The place was teeming with attractive girls so they were spoilt for choice.

"'They were telling potential conquests that 50 Cent was hosting a party back at his hotel and that they were all invited.'

"We hear one girl who was more than happy to RSVP with a yes was glamour girl Lauren Pope, who was last seen clambering into the entourage's people-carrier."

Nice.



(image via ohnotheydidnt)

Out: Liz Hurley. According to the Mail on Sunday (link via ohnotheydidnt), Hurley is slated to play the role of the witch Bellatrix Lestrange in the next Harry Potter movie. Grr. If there is any way for the Harry Potter franchise to sink, this cinematic jinx will find a way to do it.



(image via outofcontext)

In: Larry David Should Host the Oscars. From this day forward we are going to do all in our blogging powers to make sure Larry David hosts the Oscars. He's a brilliant writer, he has few other challenges left to him, he's Mr. Hollywood -- just make this man the host.

Resolved: Larry David should host the Oscars. (And remember you heard it here first)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Message to the jacket: Free Winona! (image via style.com via stephanie fuegere)



Pharrell, she ran with Bob Marley. She Biblically knew Bob Marley. Bob Marley was a friend of hers. Pharell, you're no Bob Marley. (image via style.com via stephanie fuegere)



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



An informal skin-elesticity test tells Janice Dickinson that, among other things, that she has probably reached the end of Reconstruction. (image via ohnotheydidnt via isifa.com)

Separated at Birth?



Vampy, shady former Ambassador to Austria, Ron Lauder (image via fashionweekdaily via patrickmcmullen)



And: Campy, shady former villain to Batman, "Egghead" (image via torontodreaming)

Snarky Film Critics Invade the Makor

(image via nohomers.net)

What do you get when you fill a stage on the Upper West Side with a bunch of snarky film critics? Last night, Armond White, Thelma Adams, Stephen Holden and Glenn Kenny brought their "A-game" to the 92nd Street Y and, with all due respects, let their freak flags fly. According to Indiewire's Reeler:

"For whatever reason, the brittle, contrarian bitchiness that stifles (Armond White's) columns resurfaced Sunday as optimism--and you cannot say that it was there in the Press the whole time. Remember, this is the guy who only three weeks ago eviscerated these same colleagues for their smugness and intellectual dishonesty.

"Not that he invoked a cuddle party Sunday, but the guy had some far more constructive insights to pass along when he could--like when Holden asked if he rejected cynical films like Syriana in an ostensibly cynical time. 'You have an agenda which is really that movies should progress, (or) morally uplift us,' Holden said.

"'Everybody has an agenda,' White said. 'So I'm not ashamed to say my agenda is that I want a movie that does not insult me, and very simply, basically, I want what everybody wants from art: I want art to show me something about myself, something about others--tell me something about the world that I wouldn't have understood until I encountered this work of art.'

"'But something positive,' Holden said.'No,' White said. 'No. Not necessarily positive. I believe in that Leslie Fiedler line, 'No! in Thunder': Not necessarily positive in a namby-pamby sense, but positive in a profound sense. If we're living in a cynical age, why do we need more cynical movies? We can get cynicism really easily-- just pick it out of the air. Living in a cynical age we need movies that teach us how to remember that we're human. To remember that we're like others.'

"Panel moderator Michael Zam jumped in. 'So what are some movies that make you feel that this year?'

"'Munich,' White replied. 'The great, great Munich.'

"'Oh my God,' Adams groaned."

And, we imagine, it takes quite a bit to make US Weekly's Thelma Adams groan. The conversation contunued thusly:

"That is pretty much where the discussion broke off into an insider bull session about unreleased films that most of the audience obviously had not yet seen. Munich got a lot of face time, as did The New World, King Kong, Match Point (notably--and wrongly, I might add--reviled by each of the panelists; more on that here Dec. 21) and The Producers. A few other fall films did make it into the chat: Lodge Kerrigan's brilliant Keane came up and was promptly forgotten again, while A History of Violence drew mixed sentiments including Kenny's awe-inspiring (and unironic!) observation: 'I don't think Cronenberg thinks of himself as a satirist. I think of it as more of a philosophical burlesque.'

"Meanwhile, Adams wondered if Jake Gyllenhaal would be considered as more than Brokeback Mountain's supporting actor Oscar hopeful had he not played a bottom ..."

(A considerable pause) More of such deep, insightful philosophical burlesque here.

A Dave Chappelle "Wake"?



(image via college publisher)

You've got to give Comedy Central some credit. Dave Chappelle turned out to be a lemon, but they're making lemonade with what's left of the whole fiasco. The audience reaction at Comedy Central's "Last Laugh" was fairly enthusiastic about the trailer of the abbreviated Chappelle season. According to New York Magazine's Intelligencer:

"Dave Chappelle is still very much alive, but since he�s on the lam from his TV show, Comedy Central plans to treat him as if he�d tragically expired. Last week, the network announced that it was going to stitch four new episodes of Chappelle�s Show out of the roughly 75 minutes of sketches completed before the star abruptly halted work on the series. But since Chappelle�s usual from-the-stage introductions to the skits were never filmed, the network is hoping to tributize them. 'If Dave does not come back to do his normal intros, the goal is to get Chris Rock, Chris Tucker, Martin Lawrence, the biggest comedians, whatever, to do a wake for the show,' says a person familiar with the planning."

Well, the biggest African-American comedians, they mean. More:

�'Dave�s missing; these are his last four remaining episodes. They�ll grieve and roast and toast. Those will be the new bumpers.' The source says that the new sketches�bits of which were shown Sunday on Comedy Central�s Last Laugh �05�are 'absolutely hysterical.'"

Well, not really. The Susan Sarandon sleeping with Lil Jon seems a bit dated. So does the Gary Coleman security guard fight riff. But the parody of Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me," entitled "Maximize Me" looks somewhat promising:

A Bloated Chappelle: May I have two half-pounders with cheese? (Cut)

Indian Doctor: ... f you do this movie, you may die .. (cut)

A Bloated Chappelle: I need more ketchup ...

Sassy McDonald's worker: Aint no more Ketchup.

(A bloated Chappelle in purple sweatsuit bum-rushes the McDonald's counter)

Intelligencer continues:

"Standout skits include a werewolf bit and a parody of MTV�s Cribs in which Chappelle shows off an enormously gaudy Miami mansion while wearing a '400-pound fur coat.' A Comedy Central spokesman says, 'I�ve heard the wake idea. I have not heard those specific names.'"

Intelligencer

Comedy Central Season 3 2006 Chappelle Trailer here.

A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via tilos.hu)

In: Richard Pryor. Richard Pryor was, arguably, the best homegrown American humorists of all time. When we think of Pryor, he is up there with Mark Twain and the Marx Brothers. Just as the waters of Woody Allen's early comedy flows directly from the zany surrealistic rivers of The Marx Brothers, and nearly every comedy writer is a grandchild of Twain, so virtually every stand-up today can claim stylistic paternity from Richard Pryor.

Equal parts observational humor, and mercilessly personal in nature, Pryor's game ushered in the modern, existential era of comedians, at home under the glaring spotlight, revealing themselves -- flaws and all -- on the stage, armed only with their razor wits.

Unfortunately, the crotchety old Stanley Crouch took the opportunity to suckerpunch a dead man, scolding in the pages of the NYDailyNews:

"This past Saturday Richard Pryor left this life and bequeathed to our culture as much darkness as he did the light his extraordinary talent made possible.

When we look at the remarkable descent this culture has made into smut, contempt, vulgarity and the pornagraphic, those of us who are not willing to drink the Kool-Aid marked 'all's well,' will have to address the fact that it was the combination of confusion and comic genius that made Pryor a much more negative influence than a positive one."

We disagree. Our favorite Pryor-moment was during Live on the Sunset Strip, in 1982, when he spoke about his first trip to Africa, and how odd it was to see majority-black societies functioning. It was an innocent, funny and sharp moment -- Just like Richard Pryor.

May he rest in peace. Richard Pryor, RIP.



(image via uscourts.gov)

Out: The Alito Confirmation Hearings. It's going to get ugly, with a filibuster -- and the attendant "nuclear option" -- frequently mentioned as possibilities. According to US News and World Report's Washington Whispers (link via wonkette):

"The GOP team working with the White House to win confirmation of conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is putting out a warning to Alito's Democratic critics: Question his ethics and character at your own peril. In their sights: Sens. Edward Kennedy and Joe Biden. 'We're absolutely prepared to have an ethics debate with Teddy Kennedy,' says one insider who mentioned the 'C' word: Chappaquiddick. 'Questioning Alito's credibility and character will be hit back hard,' said one of the Alito supporters."

And, from the perfect Dickensian villain, Robert Novak:

"... Two pieces of paper prepared 20 years ago by Alito (one of them a job application), he described himself as anti-abortion. That was enough to mobilize the senators who most dependably follow the special interest groups: Charles Schumer of New York, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Barbara Boxer of California.

"But abortion is not an issue that will broaden the anti-Alito bloc beyond the 22 hard-core senators who voted against Roberts. Accordingly, Alito's 15 years as an appellate judge have been mined to yield controversial decisions that could not be found in Roberts' two years on the District of Columbia circuit court, which dealt largely with administrative cases. Alito's dissents on criminal-search and gun-control cases are cited to turn him into a 'jack-booted thug.'

"... The intent of this effort is to keep Alito's opposition in the Senate below the 41 votes needed to defeat a cloture motion stopping a filibuster. But even if his foes fall just short of that level, the hope on the left is that such a showing will dissuade Bush from naming another Roberts or Alito to the next vacancy on the court."



(image via forgottenny)

In: HaperCollins Goes Digital. The Newscorp-owned publishing house scored sloppy seconds over Narnia's afterglow, according to Narniaweb:

"Harper Collins, publishers of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe novel have reported sales of 42,503 copies in the seven week lead up to the film�s release, putting the novel at the number one slot in the children�s paperbacks chart and placing the book 24th in the official top 50 overall book charts"

What's more, according to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg and Kevin J. Delaney of the Wall Street Journal:

"In the latest salvo in the fight over the future of books on the Internet, one of the country's biggest publishers said it intends to produce digital copies of its books and then make them available to search services offered by such companies as Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com., while maintaining physical possession of the digital files.

"News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers Inc. hopes to head off the prospect of these big Internet companies taking charge of books that it has purchased, edited and published.

"Its move to digitize its active backlist of an estimated 20,000 titles and as many as 3,500 new books each year comes at a moment when technology companies and the publishing industry are wrestling over rights and economic models for books online. HarperCollins's effort to make search companies use its digital copies is an aggressive response to anxieties felt by publishers worried that they will lose control over their intellectual property.

"Along with a recent initiative by Bertelsmann AG's Random House, the initiative signals a growing desire by publishers to control and participate in some of the new online uses of their books."

Sienna and Leo



(image via newsoftheworld)

After issuing the Six Commandments, and after turning "puce" over hearing Jude Law dated Salma Hayek, there is a Leo at the end of the tunnel. According to the extremely downmarket Newsoftheworld:

"Leo has told close friends he's been seeing Sienna for two months, even though he still isn't over his ex-girlfriend, supermodel GISELE BUNDCHEN.

"A well-placed source tells me: 'Leo's still gutted about splitting up from Gisele but has been meeting up with Sienna. They really get on. But she is still seeing Jude Law, so God knows what's happening there. I don't know what Sienna's playing at.'"

"... My source added: 'Who knows what will happen between them?

'All I do know is that they love being with each other whenever they can.'"

Maybe she's just getting into character for the confused-Muse Edie Sedgwick? The full, unexpurgated story here.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Something about this picture suggests to me that at evenings end, she will be at his seedy walk-up, visibly shaken, and he will be murmuring in a thoroughly disgusting French accent from behind a greasy camera lense "Et-Vous .. Coco; et-vous." (image via thecobrasnake)



Hulk Hogan hasn't been quite as buff since he got off of "the stuff." (image via thecobrasnake)



"An' he just smoked my eyelids An' punched my cigarette." (image via thecobrasnake)




"I got the herb that's perturb! (Insistent) I got the weed that you need" (image via thecobrasnake)

Does Tom Ford Want to "Tart Up" Dakota Fanning?



(image via variety)

When not harshing on the mellow of the saintly Krucoff ("In Krucoff we Trust"), the patron saint of all New York bloggers, the Conde Nasties at Vanity Fair -- who, incidentally have an uncharacteristically African-American web-page -- are undergoing some Tom Ford drama (And, no, he is not creepily kissing up on the mannequins). Tom wants to "tart up" Dakota Fanning.

All Hell broke loose the last time The Corsair mouthed off on the D-Fan. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment) Damn, but you people cannot take a joke about Dakota Fanning. The Corsair got hate emails for weeks. Well, let it out on Tom Ford now, why don't you. According to fashionweekdaily:

"Sources inside the fashion halls of Vanity Fair, not to mention publicists at more than one luxury fashion house, have been abuzz over the apparent drama Ford is stirring up since editor-in-chief Graydon Carter confirmed his position as artistic director of the annual Hollywood photo portfolio, scheduled to bow in March.

"Specifically, Ford was said to have requested that the Vanity Fair fashion department pull 'really grown-up clothes' (translation: skin-baring dresses and platform high heels) for 12-year old Dakota Fanning, just one of a bevy of actresses he worked with. 'It�s one thing to have an artistic eye, but it�s another to be offensive,' said one source who worked on the shoots. 'It�s been an interesting adventure.'"

Sounds like it: "What�s also interesting is that sources are now saying that Ford�s guest-editing gamble might very well become a permanent venture at the Cond� Nast title."

The full story here.

Semi Exclusive: Will Osama Get Kicked Out of White's Club?



(image via tribuneindia)

We vote "yes." Throw Osama Bin Laden's grotty terrorist ass out of White's on 37 James's Street. But we don't get a vote. And, exclusive 250-year old British clubs are ultraconservative to the point of wacky (They's say "eccentric").

How else does one explain a club that actually has to go actually through a procedure to evict a scoundrel of a member who killed 3,000 Americans and hundreds of Britishers and lives -- if still alive -- on the lam in an Afghani cave as a war criminal? How?! (And, to whomever picks up this story off the blog: You can quote me on that; in fact, The Corsair insists)

But British aristocrats value loyalty, it seems, over logic and decency. According to Taki in TheSpectator:

"... Things are coming to a head at White's this week. Yes, its the same old story, the fact that Osama bin Laden is a member and those who put him up are in trouble with other members who were never told about him. Harry Laden, as we all call him, was originally sponsored by Sonny Marlborough and David Metcalf, not David Beaufort and Nicholas Soames as I wrote at the time. Metcalfe also sold Harry a life-insurance policy at a great premium. Although I am not in league with them, some new members want Harry suspended, but people like Lord Halfax say once a member always a member unless you go broke and can't pay the fees. There is a meeting scheduled at the Khandahar room at White's this Friday, but my guess is that Harry stays as do Sonny and David."

WTF?! Khandahar room?! British royals sticking up for Osama Bin Laden?! Is this some kind of a British joke -- like Benny Hill -- that dies during trans-Atlantic translation?

From a web site on White's:

"No doubt, he wouldn't have been invited to White's at numbers. 37-38, St James's Street, with its elegant iron railings and entrance lamps. Founded in 1693 as a chocolate house, this is the oldest London club, and the most famous. Indeed, White's is considered to be the model for every other gentleman's club in London."

(Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)

How Deaf is Foxy Brown?



Inga, Nutty as an Almond Joy. (image via blackwebportal)

Perhaps when mention was made in court that Foxy Brown was "deaf," it was somehow misread by the press corps ("deaf," in urban parlance is a different kettle of fish altogether than "def"). According to those magnificent Page Sixxies yesterday, something rotten is going on in the state of Hip-Hop:

"FOXY Brown, who's on trial for allegedly assaulting a couple of manicurists, flipped out in the Signature Bank on Park Avenue the other day. The hip-hop artist ran into trouble trying to collect $2,000 in cash, said a source: 'She got abusive and started screaming. She cursed out a bank manager and humiliated this woman.' Brown might have been testy because she's having trouble maintaining her blinged-out lifestyle. Insiders say her business manager, Bert Padell, 'has been picking up her bills. She's broke.' Padell's office told PAGE SIX, 'There's no one here who can talk to you about Foxy Brown.' Meanwhile, talk of Foxy's supposed hearing loss is much exaggerated. After she fired lawyer Joseph Tacopina � who claimed she was 'pretty much deaf' � Brown picked up the phone and spoke directly with attorney Salvatore Strazzullo. It seems that Brown had no trouble hearing him to set up an appointment."

"Moxie" Brown.

A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via usmovies1.yahoo.com)

In: Brad Grey. How gangster is Brad Grey? You're so gangster, baby! Everyone expected NBC Uni to get Dreamworks at bargain basement prices. David Geffen's "Dreamgirls" project finally has a stable home; we thought Sumner nixed the idea (2nd item), due to fears that -- according to Claudia Eller -- "shareholders and potential investors would balk at a major acquisition � DreamWorks is asking about $1 billion � at a time when Viacom is poised to split into two publicly traded companies."

Piffle. According to Claudia Eller and Sallie Hofmeister of the LATimes:

"The entertainment industry was startled Friday when Paramount Pictures swooped in and struck a deal to buy DreamWorks SKG, the independent movie studio that rival NBC Universal had spent six months pursuing, according to sources close to the matter.

"As recently as October, Paramount had publicly denied any interest in the acquisition after its parent company, Viacom Inc., balked at the high asking price of $1.5 billion including assumption of debt. But Viacom's board approved just such a bid Thursday, provided that outside investors help finance the deal.

"As of Friday afternoon, they still hadn't lined any up, but sources said investors would be selected after the deal's announcement, which is expected as early as Sunday.The acquisition would be a major coup for Paramount Chairman Brad Grey, the former talent manager who since being hired in March has moved aggressively to remake the struggling studio.

"It also would mark the end of a dream hatched 11 years ago, when three of Hollywood's most high-profile figures � director Steven Spielberg, music mogul David Geffen and veteran studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg � set out to build a multifaceted entertainment empire. The sale to Paramount would leave the industry with just one major independent studio: Lions Gate Entertainment."



(image via tfaoi)

Out: Philippe de Montebello. De Montebello: The "voice that launched a thousand accoustigraphs" is surprisingly mum on the subject of looted art. But then, so is much of the so-called "Art Establishment." (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment) They always have been; so long as the Art gets into the hands of wealthy museums and private collectors in the right urban centers -- no one really cares from whence it came. (Averted Gaze)

Until now.

According to the Old Gray Lady:

"A decade ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art embarked on a vastly ambitious project: the transformation of its dark and crowded Greek and Roman galleries into one of the premier spaces for antiquities in the Western Hemisphere.

"In 2007, the project will culminate in the opening of a huge colonnaded Roman court that Philippe de Montebello, the Met's director, has described as 'a grand orchestral coda' to years of work reinstalling the museum's classical collections. But as the project nears completion, it also threatens to become one of the Met's biggest headaches, forcing the museum to address difficult questions about the ethics of collecting practices."

Principal among those complaints, from Matthew Bogdanos' astonishingly excellent OpEd:

"IN New York, the Metropolitan Museum is considering what amounts to a plea bargain with Italian authorities for having acquired antiquities that Italy says were stolen. In California, the longtime curator for ancient art at the J. Paul Getty Museum has resigned to face trial in Rome on charges of conspiracy to receive stolen artifacts. In Iraq, a German archaeologist has been kidnapped by insurgents.

"Having led the United States investigation into the looting of the Iraq Museum in April 2003, I find none of these events surprising. Indeed, the patina of gentility we usually associate with the world of antiquities has always rested atop a solid core of criminal activity.

"But it's getting worse: in a modern-day version of the old 'molasses to rum to slaves' triangle trade of pious New England ship captains, the cozy cabal of academics, dealers, and collectors who turn a blind eye to the illicit side of the trade is in effect supporting the terrorists killing our troops in Iraq.

"Although most countries recognize the importance of preserving the world's cultural heritage, none have devoted sufficient resources to tracking down stolen artifacts. Most international cultural organizations are content to issue proclamations, preferring to hit the conference center rather than the streets. As for the art community, some feel that, while technically illegal, the market in purloined antiquities is benign- victimless - as long as it brings the art to those who can properly appreciate it (namely, themselves)."

More here. (You've got to read this; it's so fucking brilliant in its indictment of the staid "Art Establishment)



... Don't hate the player, hate the game. (image via oih.rwth-aachen.de/Hendrik Brixius)

In: Bill Clinton, Powerbroker. Read the international papers -- heck: Read the local papers -- and it's Bill Clinton all the time.

Clinton's roving, rambling international audition for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations is, one cannot fail to note, amazing to say the least. Wielding that forgotten phenomenon, American "soft power" -- a concept, incidentally, that the embattled Donald Rumsfed actually admitted that he didn't quite understand (How psychologically meaningful is that little factoid, peeps?).

Bill Clinton was a powerbroker in Montreal at the UN Meeting on Gas Emissions, according to the Old Gray Lady:

"Former President Bill Clinton sketched a route around the impasse that included gentle rebukes of those seeking concrete targets and also of the Bush administration.

We also know last week that Senator John Corzine consulted the former President and powerbroker on appointing Robert Menendez to fill his seat. He was involved, somehow, in the ever-shady Kazakhstan (We don't really want to know how, precisely; it sounds dirty, but ultimately, Realpolitik and within our interests), And, next Wednesday, Clinton quixotically visits possible Republican Gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano -- WTF?! -- to catch a Buffalo Sabres game. We can almost hear those soothing Arkansan tones; tones that have seduced hundreds of poltiicans, saying: "Now ... Tom --I cancallyouTomcan'tah; Tom: 'Y'don't really wanna run for Governor under the Republicans, now do you?

"(Bites lip soulfully) They're just using you for your billions to fund their State Senate Majority, Tom. It's not right. They don't expect yout to really win; they're just using you, Tom. (Looks dead in his eyes) Not like me."

One area, anywhere, that Clinton has no apparent -- apparent -- influence is with his "Canadian special friend," the bewitching Belinda Stronach, who, controversially, crossed the Commons floor recently to the Liberals. Clinton said of the move to the London Free Press, "I heard about it when all of you did, and I was surprised ... So I had nothing to do with it." ((Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachement)

Still, These days the former President seems to have a hand in everything else that goes on at the highest levels of local and international politics.



Come on, Harv, flash us some "gam." (image via spietati.it)

Out: Does Harvey Weinstein Want to Remake Disney? The video distribution deal was smart. But not this new move. According to those intrepid Page Sixxies:

"HIDE your children � Harvey Weinstein wants to get into the amusement-park business. The hot-headed Hollywood heavyweight was huddling with Dan Snyder, chairman of theme-park powerhouse Six Flags, Joe Ravitch of Goldman Sachs and former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro over lunch at the Four Seasons the other day to discuss a possible project. A spokeswoman for the former Miramax godfather's new Weinstein Company would only say, 'Can you imagine how amazing a roller coaster would be if Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez collaborated on its design?'"

One, not so fucking amazing; two, we outgrew the urge repetitive, quick motion thing when we were, like, 12; three, what's with the Old Media fixation, Harv: There's a whole new digital universe out there to conquer. Even Disney -- if they had it to do all over again -- may have passed on the theme parks.



(image via gamespot)

In: Vandalism. The 70s are back again it seems: the feathered hair, the ... graffiti. According to Fashionweekdaily, Marc Echo is doing a film based on his new video game:

"Fashionweekdaily: The film�and your company Christmas card�are inspired by graffiti. When is tagging an acceptable medium?

�Ecko: When Mayor Bloomberg says so. Seriously, I do not condone illegal activities. I do, however, believe that when properly channeled�on canvas, through sculpture, through graphic design, film, etc.�the motif of graffiti can be considered one of the most compelling and influential artistic movements in modern history. It's all around us and has been since prehistoric times.�

Yeah, but the Paleolithic hunter was channeling the spiritual in his "graffiti," Mark. Is that an alien concept? That tribe might have been communing with the spirit of their foodstuffs before the hunt. That archaic artist/Shaman wasn't doing it for the "Fame."

Still, we will be duly intrigued about what Ecko does. But we'll avert our gaze at the video games: We cannot abide that low-attention span promoting, brain-cell killing degenerate medium. about the electronic anti-humanity of video games makes The Corsair's skin crawl.



(image via foxnews)

Out: Katherine Harris. Congresswoman Kathering Harris was going places in a hurry. She wasn't going to wait no matter who told her. She has an excess of what The Homeric Greeks called "Thumos," inflamed, no doubt, during the narcotic 2000 electoral process when reality took on the feel of a cartoon. Excessive Thumos is a particularly noxious personal characteristic disorder. If Harris, say, had waited until Rove-Bush were out of office, and the memory of her handicraft were past recent memory, she may have had the backing of the party leadership. But the flames of Ambition -- Thumos -- waits for no one.

The leaders of the Republican Party told her to hold on a Senate run (Harris has only served a couple of House terms; she is young) -- of course, Rove didn't want her to hurt the Republican Majority and was only looking out for the Party's interests against her -- she ran anyway. Now, according to our favorite Dickensian villain, Robert Novak, it's a bust:

"Republican insiders believe Rep. Katherine Harris, with her fund raising in the dumps and her staff constantly in flux, may drop out of the U.S. Senate race in Florida against first-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

"Harris became a national personality as Florida secretary of state, supporting George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential recount. With her campaign repeatedly turning over its senior staffers, Harris may not even raise $500,000 this quarter. A recent poll shows her trailing Nelson by 16 percentage points, leading some Republican members of Congress and state legislators in Florida to worry about their own re-election in 2006.

"A footnote: Some GOP fund-raisers believe Rep. Mark Foley may jump into the Senate race to replace Harris. Foley has $2.35 million cash on hand, compared to Harris' $470,000. Nelson had $6.5 million cash on hand as of Sept. 30."



(image via wachoviachampionship)

In: Congressman John Boehner. Tom Reynolds has taken himself out of the mix for a Republican leadership position; he will probably opt back in again when a Republican Majority seems more likely (Rumors have it that up to 50 seats are up in the air out of the Republican Majority in 2006; the Dems need just 15 to take control). The embattled Majority Leader and Whip, Blunt has one less competitor to worry about (As the Boehner-Blunt tensions rise). According to TheHill:

"Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) breathed a sigh of relief when for the second time in 13 months Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday that he would not mount a bid to move up the ranks in the House leadership, which could help avoid a bloody and distracting potential leadership battle when the House reconvenes in January."

And with Congressman Pence -- darling of House conservatives -- also out, Boehner has a clear shot at Blunt.

Will Taki Be Named Editor of The Spectator?



(image via weltwoche.ch)

Tory British MP Boris Johnson was, according to the Yorkshire Post, "last night promoted to the Tory frontbench � and immediately announced he was quitting as editor of The Spectator."

Stuart Reid will be interim editor, according to Boris Johnson's blog:

"Statement by Boris Johnson, editor of The Spectator, on joining David Cameron's shadow team:
"This is a fantastic job [Shadow Minister for Higher Education] and I am thrilled to be given the chance to do it. It is also a very hard job to do properly. It will mean a lot of time and thought.

"That is why I will be leaving the Spectator shortly after the Christmas edition has gone to press. Until a new editor is appointed, the magazine will be in the highly-capable hands of my colleague and deputy Stuart Reid."

According to Taki's High Life column in the December 3rd issue of Britain's The Spectator:

"And now for some good news. The powers that be have told me that I shall be named editor of The Spectator if Boris becomes a front bencher and resigns. This is only fair. I've been waiting for the top job for 28 years, seven proprietors and five editors. My first act will be to move Mary Wakefield's desk next to mine, lock the door and excercise my droits de seigneur. The next act will be to fire myself having excercised my rights. Well worth waiting for."

That is, of course, a politically incorrect statement. Taki has been accused of being everything from a misogynist to a racist. I met Taki several years ago, went to lunch at Elaine's on his bill, sat at his table, drank expensive booze deep into the night with him and his buddies (Chuck Pfeiffer, Christopher Buckley) and can attest to the fact that he is neither a misogynist nor racist.

Taki just really likes to speak provocatively; otherwise, he is one of the nicest media types The Corsair has ever met. We'd like to be the first to congratulate him.

You do your thing, Taki.

The Independent on Boris Leaving Media for the Bench here.

no posts today; working on an assignment. be back soon.

A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via mobiletechforum)

In: Ross Levinsohn. The President of Fox Interactive Media is making all sorts of news at the UBC sponsored Media Week event. For one, NewsCorp is "listening" to proposals from several search engine businesses -- like Quigo. Also, Fox Interactive Media is expected to pull in $300 million --! -- in revenue next year, most of it online ads.

According to PaidContent:

"Yes, you're reading a lot about Ross Levinsohn here this week but that's what happens when people making news are in the spotlight at consecutive conferences ... I tried to get a picture with my nifty new little camera but the lighting wasn't right so you'll have to trust me: after his session at UBS Tuesday, Levinsohn was surrounded by the largest group I've seen this week for more than 30 minutes -- a symbol of the intense interest in what News Corp. and FIM are doing with their $1.4 billion investments (including retention deals) in MySpace.com/Intermix, IGN and Scout.

"... -- The deal between IGN and 20th Century Fox is along the lines of the deal the movie studio made recently with Movielink. Fox Digital Media manages the rights and licensing and negotiated the deal with FIM/IGN.

"-- The 'Family Guy' originals being created for online distribution also will be available via mobile. Pricing: Don't be surprised if the download fees for Family Guy and similar Fox video is $1.99. 'Wal-Mart sets the price,' Levinsohn said, comparing leaders in their respective markets. But Fox could try some variations like charging more for faster access, etc. 'You can play with some pricing schemes,' he said.

"Personal 'portals': During the session, Levinsohn showed a mock-up of what a future personal page could look like. The idea is for every page to be a personal portal of sorts. The plans for the concept, which will grow off MySpace.com, are not fully formed. For instance, the deicision on whether pages have to be public or can be limited access. Right now, he's leaning toward all public. It's at least six months away, possibly as long as a year. Fox.com: At the same time, he expects to have 'deep verticals across all of our businesses.' Fox.com may be the umbrella. Don't call it a portal, though: 'The notion of a portal is obsolete to me.'"

(Sniff,sniff) Excuse us. The full report here.



Sacrificial lamb. (image via cbsnews.com)

Out: Republican Drama. What is it about having such power that causes internal chaos within the Republican ranks? Drama!

Here in New York, there is a grand opera taking place. (Cue to the gentle plinkety-plonkety of Pleyel harspichords and viola da Gamba) Despite the fact that the Republicans have control of the State Senate, the Governorship and the Mayoralty of New York, Governor Pataki's eccentric vanity run for the President (Or, more likely: Vice; and, most likely: neither) has left something of a power vacuum in Albany.

Since, as Pascal said, Nature abhors a vacuum, Joe Bruno, the most powerful elected Republican in the State, and Steven Minarik, the most powerful unelected man in the state have rushed in to fill the void and stave off an expected Democrat landslide in the state the 2006 elections.

This split has led to the backing of dual candidates for Governor. Bruno backs charisma-challenged billionaire Tom Golisano, whom, inturn, he hopes will reciprocate with blank checks to the New York Republican party so that he maintains conrol of the state senate; Minarik -- a Pataki-D'amato crony who favors postprandial brandies and cigar smoke filled backroom deals -- backs Bill Weld, the intense, charismatic, copper-topped, former Governor of Massachusetts. The intra-party split has also led to the embarassing Pirro-versus-Hillary soap opera. Pirro should -- according to the rumors -- withdraw next week; though, if she decamps to an Attorney General campaign, look for the disgustingly aggressive former HUD Secretary, Andrew Cuomo, to tear her to shreds via her shady husband's biography.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, Congressman Blunt's sheer fucking incompetence as Majority Leader and Whip as well as Monday's announcement that Tom DeLay's legal troubles won't be going away in the near future has led to some -- dare we say it? -- "drama" by the ambitious Representative Boehner, among others vying for a taste of power.

Curiously, the Conservative darling of the House, Congressman Mike Pence, who had a solid shot at Majority Whip, put his own ambitions aside and stepped down quietly for the good of the party; quite gentlemanly that.

And now, as if there isn't enough division in the party of power, there's Frist anxiety, even as former Majority Leader Lott, is angling, behind-the-scenes, for a greater role within the Grand Old Party.

Drama!



(image via thrillist via guy vasquez)

In: Thrillist. The Corsair has actually found TheThrillist quite useful in planning what to do in the city on any given night. They describe themselves thusly:

"Thrillist is a free email newsletter for guys in New York, exposing The City's most glorious bars, sporting events, services, gadgets and restaurants. Thrillist is the voice that keeps you plugged into everything new, unknown and underappreciated.

"Thrillist's goal is to create a network of undeniable greatness, write-up by write-up, delivered to your inbox 4 times per week. We refuse to post filler, or any of the other useless garbage that defines most 'cityguides.' For every recommendation we make, we've investigated dozens of alternatives, then ridiculed them fiercely for not living up to our standards."

We like; we really do. (Thrillist)



(image via theobserver)

Also In: Nabokov's Laura. We adore Vladimir Nabokov (We are still trying to catch all the multidimensional puns in Ada. or Ardor). We also like Ron Rosenbaum, when he's not writing about Yale Secret Societies. Put Naobokove and Rosenbaum together and you get his column today about the unfinished manuscript of "Laura" for the salmon-colored weekly:

"My Observer story put the focus on the apparently perilous situation of the manuscript, whatever Dmitri (now 71) decides. He told me that knowledge of the location of the safe-deposit box containing Laura (which he disclosed to me was in Switzerland) was limited to him and 'one [unidentified] assistant'�raising the question of whether the manuscript might be lost before anyone had a choice whether to burn or preserve it. I called upon some museum, foundation or university to offer a plan for its preservation and access for scholars. At the very least, get it out of the questionable confines of some bank vault. Banks have been known to be robbed, flooded or burned, after all. The locations of secret Swiss safe-deposit boxes have been known to be lost upon the death of their holders, due to the banking-secrecy laws there.

"And so it appears that once The Observer made his threat public, and the eyes of the world were upon him, awaiting his decision, Dmitri rethought words he may have uttered in haste or irritation. What he initially told me was that because of 'the repugnant atmosphere typical of current �Lolitology,� as he called it, 'I shall probably destroy it.' In the past, he�d spoken of consigning it at some point to a scholarly institution that would preserve but not publish it, and that would permit access to certain scholars. While it may have contravened his father�s wishes to destroy the unfinished work (maybe a third of a short novel), it was a reasonable compromise."

Ellis' Lunar Park: Optioned by Palm-Star



(image via informationleafblower)

Cinematical reports (link via Variety) that Brett Easton Ellis' laughably bad novel Luna Park -- which spawned a fake web site for the protagonist's movie star wife -- has been optioned by Palm-Star Entertainment, which, according to their website, "co-produces and co-finances independent films with budgets under $15 million." Astonishing. From Onion AV Club:

"There are some bravura passages in those early chapters: long descriptions of pre-teen bedrooms and private-school parent/ teacher conferences that document the peculiar stress of a modern childhood. Yet even when he makes himself the hero, Ellis has difficulty concocting a likeable lead. Though frequently funny, Bret Easton Ellis remains bad company.

"As for Lunar Park, it lurches from sharp satire to second-tier Stephen King�the latter most likely on purpose, since Ellis is excavating a personal literary past that includes an avowed pre-adolescent King fixation. He doesn't do 'pulse-pounding' well, though, and when he reaches for open sentimentality, he winds up looking like a dork."

Cruel, but fair. Our own review (August 24th, 6th item) was a little more bitchy by a whisker:

"Lunar Park could have been a fine book, but for some unknown reason, Ellis is obsessed with gore. He throws in some cheap haunted house gimmick which falls flat. Just as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho shocked -- shocked! -- the reader, so does the meta-Brett Easton Ellis, the author's alter ego, as he combats the forces of darkness in his haunted house. I can't even tell you how stupid it is. Ellis has a house haunted by a toy flying bat creature, a 'Terby' ('Y Bret' spelled backwards; don't ask). Was he smoking crack?"

From the Palm-Star press release:

"'We believed in Lunar Park so strongly that we put in a pre-emptive bid the very next day after it came to us', said Kevin Frakes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Palm-Star Entertainment.

"'We were in a bit of a battle, but it was personal for our company and we went the extra mile to close the deal.' Palm-Star has been fielding interest from producers, directors and writers, but are taking their time in packaging the project.

"'Lunar Park is the most personal book I've written even if on the surface it reads like a thriller. It took a long time to complete and Palm-Star has known about the book from the beginning. And they witnessed the usual complaints, anxieties, and excitement that occur when you're completing a novel.' Concedes author Bret Easton Ellis. 'Now it's their turn to move through that process.'"

No word yet on who plays Terby. We nominate Paul Giamatti.

Palm-Star press release here.

"But (Leonardo) Just Laughed it off"

(image via bbc.uk)

Even without the presence of the infamous "Pussy Posse" that terrorized the New York-Los Angeles corridor in the late 90s, Scorpio Leo DiCaprio does alright for himself. According to the 3AMGirls:

"SHE is supposed to be patching up her rocky romance with Jude Law. So what was Sienna Miller doing cuddling up to Hollywood hunk Leonardo DiCaprio?

"Sienna, 23, was spotted cosying up to newly-single Leo at New York club Bungalow 8 on Saturday night.

"Our spy says: 'Sienna was with some pals at the club, dancing and drinking. Then at midnight a scruffy-looking Leo appeared on his own and joined Sienna's gang.

"'She seemed very happy to see him and gave him a huge hug. They spent most of the rest of the evening huddled in a corner, chatting.

"'There was a lot of flirting going on. Leo didn't even look at any of the other girls. He would whisper in Sienna's ear, then they'd laugh together. It looked pretty cosy. At one point she tried to get Leo to dance, but he just laughed it off.'"

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Can The Corsair check your shirt label? We just want to see if you were made in heaven. (image via thecobrasnake)



There comes an awkward existential moment of modernization whenever someone still using the passe "high-five" is confronted with someone expecting the au courante "fist-to-fist." Especially if a girfriend is watching. (image via thecobrasnake)



Wait a second. Isn't Twister, like, supposed to be played on top of colored circles or something? Hello? (image via thecobrasnake)



This would be too easy. We decline on professional grounds. (image via thecobrasnake)

Joe Jackson Comes Out to New York Society



(image via NySocialdiary)

It's all so Edith Wharton. Or, at the very least, Whit Stillman. We always knew Joe Jackson was a debutante. Insisting on dancing lessons for the children? Check. An overreliance on cosmetic surgery? Check. Makeup? Checkmate -- Joe Jackson; all that's missing is the annoying lapdog.

Putting aside the rumors of alleged assassinating Michael Jackson's primate lover post-coitus (Averted Gaze), or -- even more unlikely -- the beating his son robustly with a "switch" (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)," Joe Jackson is "coming out" to New York sociaety. Our favorite social chronicler David Patrick Columbia writes in NYSocialDiary today:

"... I traveled a few blocks down to interior designer Geoffrey Bradfield�s holiday cocktail party. The invite called for 6 to 8 and I arrived about ten to thinking it�d be me and the stragglers. Wrong. The place was packed and the chilled bottles of Veuve Cliquot were making the rounds and making the rounds. Mr. Bradfield, the international interior designer only moved into this very large house a few months ago but as is his wont, it was done.

"... Among the likely suspects quaffing the bubbly were some new faces in this part of the forest: Joe Jackson also known to the world as the father of Michael, LaToya, Janet, Jermaine, Marlon, Tito, etc. Mr. J has offices here for his JJP, Inc. and his 'Worldwide Hip Hop Competitions' (http://www.hiphopbootcamp.com/)."

A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via tomgpalmer)

In: Steve Jobs. As Apple Computer shares continue to ascend and Pixar continues to be popping, everyone from Playboy to NBC Universal is programming specifically for iPods (links via iwantmedia). It is not inconceiveable that a day comes when iPod network start ups pop up with short, low cost iPod programming. Steve Jobs is old school that way. Have we finally found a use -- as low-cost iPod programming -- for the "Shorts" category at Film Festivals? Up until this point, a "Short" film has as much societal use as Poetry (Averted Gaze)

But we digress. According to Stacy Kramer at Paidcontent:

"Take that, Bob Iger. NBC Universal sees Disney's bet and raises it with a major iTunes content deal: 11 primetime, late-night, cable and 'Vintage NBC' The lineup includes 'Law & Order', sketches from 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno', 'Monk', and 'Dragnet', 'Adam-12'. But the show that could turn out to be the real winner is Sci-Fi's 'Battlestar Gallactica', a cult favorite with a strong following. Consistent with Apple's pattern of standard pricing, the shows are $1.99 a download."

The cult hits, it seems, are the shows that are really going to win out in this new digital universe.
First the "Avids" at Comecon were hott, and now cult Sci-Fi programming -- "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica," and anything Joss Whedon, will soon dominate iPod programming. How to make Media Moguls: Relieve them of their lunch monies in High School.

The geeks, my friends, have truly inherited the earth.

A propos of nothing: Dave Itzkoff's fascinating story of Battlestar Galactica's cult hit standing here.



(image via ucalgary)

Out: "The Weedman." We caution Britney Spears to festina lente in navigating between K-Fed and his dealer.

It's a complicated thing, a man's first dealer. They're special. They're always there -- the bad times, the good times, the spotting you the odd bag when funds are low; the letting you know about the progress of "The hydro" and the "Chocolato," and the giving you the schwag at a discount price.

According to those intrepid Page Sixxies:

"THINGS seem to be going from bad to worse in the Britney Spears/Kevin Federline marriage.
Spears, who kicked her under-employed, party-loving hubby out of her Malibu abode last week, is now said to be 'furious' with her man and 'wants to punish him,' according to a well-informed source.

"A spy in Spears' camp told PAGE SIX, 'She is trying to repossess the $200,000 Ferrari she bought him. She is sick and tired of his partying ways and the constant flow of complete drug addicts coming in and out of her house.'

"The fight that led to Spears booting Federline from their home reportedly began over his having his 'weedman' � or pot dealer � over to the house and hanging around their newborn son, Sean Preston."



(image via i.tbs.com)

In: The Family Guy. According to Paidcontent (And, really-- What would we do without Paidcontent?), the buzzy Family Guy is going digital:

"-- Starting in 2006, Fox will produce original episodes of Fox animated hit 'The Family Guy' for the internet with distribution via MySpace.com, IGN's Direct2Drive and other Fox sites.


More developing from Media Week here.

Ingrid Sischy to Give Away Elton John



(image via digitaljournalist)

Will Interview Magazine score the exclusive story of Elton John's wedding to David Furnish? According to Jim Shi of Fashionweekdaily:

"While most of New York jet sets to Aspen or St. Bart�s for the holidays, Ingrid Sischy and Sandra Brant will be making a pit stop in England on December 29. That�s the day that the editor in chief of Interview is said to be 'giving away' Elton John as he officially marries his partner of 12 years, David Furnish.

"This comes after news that Great Britain is on the verge of signing a law that would legalize gay ceremonies. Expect an intimate gathering�John has said that it will be a private affair consisting of the couple�s parents and a few close friends�that certainly won�t be splashed across the pages of OK! or any other celebrity tabloid anytime soon. But given the influential Sischy�s close friendship to John, one wouldn�t put it past Interview to score the exclusive."

Or how about Vanity Fair, where Ingrid is a Contributing Editor?

Who is Victoria Lake?

As a Ugandan-born blogger we are intimately familiar with Uganda's Lake Victoria, but just who, pray tell, is "Victoria Lake"? A 70s porn star? According to Drudgie Poo:

"$1,845,034,000 worldwide and $600,788,188 are the all-time boxoffice records for a single movie, TITANIC, first released on December 19, 1997.

"Now roars along another December blockbuster, KING KONG, a film many top Hollywood executives predict will break the record! The movie opens wide as Victoria Lake next Wednesday ..."

Hey: Matt, is there something that you're keeping from us?

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

He finds the taste bold ... yet unpretentious. (image via thecobrasnake)



So fucking beautiful she could be a John Singer Sargent painting. (image via thecobrasnake)



In honor of his chemically-enhanced pompadour, Merlin "Bronques" was asked to be the official "Relaxer" of the party. (image via thecobrasnake)



Coffee, tea, or, wink-wink: Me ... what's that? Motherfuck--! You'll have the goddamned Espresso?! (image via thecobrasnake)

He doesn't like to be called a "kept man." Rather, he preferrs to be referred to gingerly as "old Frisky's Catfood." (image via thecobrasnake)

To Charlie Gibson, with Compassion



(image via abcnewsstore)

You're a good man, Charlie Gibson; keep that head up:

The Motherfuckers. Where was the love?

Here: Have a cold adult beverage, bro; you deserve it.

You've given nothing but blood, sweat and tears to the alphabet network, and they didn't regard you as worthy for "World News Tonight." Aint that a bitch.

As if that isn't bad enough: NBC announces -- obnoxiously -- that the "Today Show" has been number one for a decade.

Nice guys finish last, Charlie. Maybe you ought to raise a little heck, you know?

Everybody loves you. Sure, going out gracious like Koppel has its appeal.

But, keep in mind, you have leverage stronger than a contract. This is a definite Jane Pauley-Deborah Norville moment. If you want it to be.

According to Ken Auletta's New Yorker piece:

"Sawyer and Gibson seem genuinely to admire each other; both are rich, happy, and not leaving anytime soon. 'Charlie and I every few months wander into each other�s office,' Sawyer told me, 'and we ask: Is it time to leave?' In unison, they say, 'Not yet.'"

How now, Charlie?