Gallery Hopping with Ron Mwangaguhunga



On Wednesday I ventured out to an opening reception for Patti Smith and Steven Sebring's 'Objects of Life' exhibition in Chelsea. Seen in the crowd were Jonas Mekas, Albert Maysles, Sam Shepard, Calvin Klein, Jessica Lange, Michael Stipe, Zac Posen and Paper's magnificent Caroline Torem Craig. There was no booze.

There were, however, several installations in rooms clustered around themes. One room included personal objects. Another held thematically-linked compositions bearing a "cross" motif -- sword, angel with wings, the uterine Y-shaped cavity. She told The Wall Street Journal: "I’m always transforming work into art. I can buy a crucifix, photograph it and make it a piece of art but the original crucifix then becomes a sacred relic. Creating from art something just magnifies it.”

There were also video installations throughout the exhibit on computers on the floor. Another video installation involved Patti painting a television set. Next to that television set/art object was another television showing via tape Patti painting the set.

My favorite part of the installation was the room devoted to Rimbaud. Rimbaud was clealry a powerful influence the poet laureate of punk. Pages of Rimbaud's Une Saison en enfer (A Season in Hell) festoon one room, over a construction of a bed. A very punk bed. Another noteworthy drawing is of one of Rimbaud's poems in the shape the ritual of preparing absinthe. very clever. But it only reminded me that there was no booze at this event.

Moving right along.



Another note worthy art event: Thursday was the Allesio Delfiono opening reception "Metamorphosis" at Kips Gallery (also in Chelsea). There were video and print installations of female bodies caked in gold makeup in various stages of transformation. From the site:

"Metamorphoseis is the latest photographic sequence in which Delfino brings together the art of body painting, the concept of the Greek Pantheon and the ancient tradition of death masks to fully experience the lost sense of ancestral and charismatic femininity manifest in the individual expressiveness of bodies ... Delfino has produced various videos by editing these images in a metamorphic loop in which the bodies merge together in a never-ending continuum, surrounded by musical compositions created by the same artist. In this phase of the project, presented as a real work in progress, Delfino makes extensive use of the computer to retreat from the notion of pure photography in order to attain, through contamination with the cinema or a performance, additional levels of reinterpreting the body, its unique and multiple identity and its infinite complexity."

There was also a Diane Arbus/ William Eggleston Opening exhibition at Cheim & Read last night. The gallery was packed with an interesting crowd of collectors and gallery hoppers. The room, unfortunately, was very small -- not nearly large enough to get a good viewing and let the newcomers get a chance (maybe the best time to seriously look at art is not on opening reception day?). Eggleston’s photographs, particularly were astonishing. I am rather conservative about these things and generally don't regard photography as a serious art form (but as decorative an art as, say, fashion). Eggleston calls that notion into question with his richly ironic, almost gothicy photographs of the American south. He is very much at home paired with Arbus' "portraits of couples, children, middle-class families, carnival performers, nudists, transvestites, zealots, eccentrics and celebrities."



The week began, on Monday, with "The Obstacle is Tautology," a clever take on the spaces (and anti-spaces) of a modern office. The exhibition, on the parlor floor of 54 King Street looked -- at first glance -- to be an office. Only in an apartment (is it even a gallery?) and inluenced by the Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers. But as the Note on the Intentions states: "Acting as a fabricated situation, Front Desk Apparatus presents the re-arrangement of a particular construct. The interiority of the space is dependent upon props disrupting its linear composition. At the same time, this composition links paradoxically to the weathered exteriority of its shell. What should function as a residential dwelling does not. Rather, the primary application is that of an office; an office for work and the transmission of information and material." So now you know.

Alison Knowles, we cannot fail to note, gave an interesting, powerful and muted musical performance that afternoon of found and made objects playing the notes on an art object with musical notation made by random inkblots. Talk about experimental composition. Really interesting evening.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"I was fortunate enough to know Gore a bit in those days. The price of knowing him was exposure to some of his less adorable traits, which included his pachydermatous memory for the least slight or grudge and a very, very minor tendency to bring up the Jewish question in contexts where it didn’t quite belong. One was made aware, too, that he suspected Franklin Roosevelt of playing a dark hand in bringing on Pearl Harbor and still nurtured an admiration in his breast for the dashing Charles Lindbergh, leader of the American isolationist right in the 1930s. But these tics and eccentricities, which I did criticize in print, seemed more or less under control, and meanwhile he kept on saying things one wished one had said oneself." (Christopher Hitchens on Gore Vidal/Vanity fair)



"Mega-billionaire Paul Allen continues to battle cancer bravely. Sources tell me he did indeed have his annual party aboard his yacht, Octopus, back on December 30th in St. Barth’s. But the party was scaled down to just about 150 people and not the usual 500. Allen, they say, had just finished a round of chemo for non Hodgkin’s lymphoma and wanted to celebrate. As usual, Allen did manage to play some rock and roll with his house band. His good friend Jon Bon Jovi joined in at one point. Bon Jovi’s David Byron, who wrote the Broadway hit, 'Memphis.' played keyboards. But one guest overheard Bon Jovi express surprise when he first saw Allen. The Microsoft co-founder is said to be quite thin, and has lost most of his hair during treatment. Nevertheless, Allen did entertain a crowd that included his other music pal, Robbie Robertson, of The Band, as well as Usher, Orlando Bloom, George Lucas, Lorne Michaels, Larry Gagosian, and Bob Shaye. And, of course, lots of pretty girls." (Showbiz411)



"When he was 26—and still in law school—his father, Harold Ford. Sr., decided to end his career in the U.S. House after 11 terms. Thanks to his name, the younger Ford had no trouble succeeding him. He then spent the next decade positioning himself to move up, routinely taking positions that put him at odds with the Democratic base (and grabbing the spotlight while doing so) in an effort to position himself for a statewide campaign—which he launched in 2006, when Bill Frist opted to retire from the Senate. That Senate campaign—launched in an optimal national environment for Democrats—was supposed to be Ford’s big moment: The Democratic tide would lift him to a narrow victory, he’d become a national star in the Senate, and talk of a future White House bid would soon follow. Too bad he lost to Bob Corker by 3 points. Not only did that defeat arrest Ford’s charmed political ascension, it also introduced him to a harsh reality: If he couldn’t win a statewide race in Tennessee in 2006, he probably wouldn’t be able to win there ever. That is even more true now, with Barack Obama’s presidency fostering an ugly and irrational backlash among many white Southerners that is, nonetheless, politically significant." (Observer)



"'I sometimes use the expression like this: There are first-person actors and third-person actors. De Niro is a third-person actor. He can see into all these different characters. And then Paul Newman is a first-person actor; he seems to bring himself to every role. I’m not passing judgment. Laura Linney seems to be a first-person actress. You completely buy her as the person. The subtext can be different and change, and she’s one of my favorites, but it’s sort of like Sean Penn. Sean Penn understands a certain kind of guy. He doesn’t understand every kind of guy' .. 'I have to be careful,' (Ethan) Hawke says. 'I love what I do. But the big business of movies is a young person’s game. There’s a few people, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Caine, who last, but you shouldn’t assume that you’re that person. Directing is exciting, it teaches me more about acting, it keeps me nervous and scared and putting myself in a position where I can fail, and it prepares me for a second profession. When I can’t be the lead of a movie, I’ll have something to do. I just think it’s smart all around.'" (TheDailyBeast)



"She’d got into a public argument with a Hollywood celebrity who calls herself Tila Tequila whose maiden name is Tila Nyugen. The two met only a few weeks ago. For some reason, probably to gain public attention, the two announced they were getting married. This was a joke played on the media, and the media of course fell for it, and so of course did everyone else. P.T. Barnum had a famous word for it. The alleged 17-carat diamond that Tequila/Nguyen was sporting was a giant zirconium ring. The twitterings about conjugal circumstances were pure fantasy that made good tawdry copy. Almost a week later, the media is still listening to her rap." (NYSocialDiary)

Artle Lange's Attempted Suicide



Good thoughts go out to comedian Artie Lange of the Howard Stern show. Today the NYPost reports:

Troubled comic Artie Lange landed in the hospital after stabbing himself nine times in an apparent suicide attempt, sources told The Post. Lange's frantic mom called 911 Saturday morning after she entered his Hoboken apartment and found the bloodied funnyman, a law-enforcement source said. Lange sustained six "hesitation wounds" and three deep plunges. A source close to Lange's management team confirmed that the Howard Stern sidekick stabbed himself, adding that his mother had come to visit him that day to drop off food. Surgeons managed to save Lange despite heavy bleeding. "We all have our demons," Stern said on-air this week, referring to Lange's past battles with addiction. "Artie has given this show tremendous moments of great comedy. He's a tremendous contributor. He is a good man. Don't forget how great he is."

This is not Lange's first suicide attempt. The obese comedian has spoken candidly about his addictions to cocaine and, recently, heroin. Unfortunately, Lange's "demons" were often made the butt of Stern's caustic comedy. In retrospect, Artie's existential battle with food and sex and drug addiction were not legitimate objects of comedy. Last year Vanessa Grigoriades profiled him in Rolling Stone. “You’d expect that someone like him, when they’re out on the road, after the show is like ‘Right on’ and runs around and gets totally wasted and picks up some hooker,” Grigorides says. "But what really goes on is that he goes back to his hotel room, gets high and hangs out by himself and stays up all night. And that’s very scary. That’s a stage of drug use that’s linked to depression.”


We wish him luck in his road to recovery.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via JH/NYSocialDiary)

"Actor/director/ photographer/sculptor/art collector Dennis Hopper is very ill battling cancer. He was first diagnosed with prostate cancer a decade ago; was treated, and it went into remission. More recently the cancer has spread and his condition has worsened noticeably ... The situation in the Hopper household had been under something of a cloud for sometime, with the husband complaining that his wife was indifferent to him. It was exacerbated when the current Mrs. Hopper, Victoria, wife number five, presented the husband with a list of the art works in the household that she believed belonged to her. The Dennis Hopper art collection is one of the most important collections of contemporary art in America today. He began collecting a decade before his wife was born (she was born in 1968), and it is also a substantial part of the man’s estate. On hearing his wife’s request, evidently surprised by her claim of ownership, while getting his affairs in order, he removed her as executrix of his estate, and replaced her with his eldest daughter Marin Hopper (with his first wife, Brooke Hayward). Marin is separated from her husband and living with their daughter on another part of the Hopper property in Venice." (NYSocialDiary)



"Mahmoud Tamimi's friends call it the ''Dubai syndrome'' -- the insatiable longing for a city he loves but was forced to leave. Back in Dubai, the 31-year-old had a good job, nice apartment and a $3,700 monthly salary, dozens of times what he'd ever made before. Then, early last year, the Jordanian of Palestinian origin was laid off as Dubai's economy plunged. With his residency permit tied to his job, he couldn't stay. He now squeezes into a two-bedroom apartment with his wife, daughter and seven other family members in a poor neighborhood of Jordan's capital, vainly looking for work. Dubai's downfall is not only hurting the city-state and the financiers who bet big on its promises. Even before Dubai's financial crisis, the sheikdom's growing economic woes had begun rippling out across the Arab world, forcing workers like Tamimi back to their home countries, where jobs are scarce and wages often rock bottom. That is eating away at the money many Middle East families depend on, sent home from relatives who work in Persian Gulf countries and emirates such as Dubai." (NYTimes)



"A few months ago, publicist Lizzie Grubman, for whom Ms. Johnson worked as an intern 10 years ago, visited her in Los Angeles, and they caught up over a sushi lunch. 'There are all these rumors about drugs and everything, but I think this was in between her stints in rehab and she looked really good,' Ms. Grubman told the Transom. 'She looked like she got her shit together. She was showing me pictures of her daughter and she said she was single, and she was actually talking about possibly moving back to New York. At that point, I felt like she was in a better place than I had seen her in a long time.' But soon after that meeting, amid reports of Ms. Johnson’s increasingly strange behavior, Ms. Johnson’s mother, Sale Johnson, swooped in and took custody of Casey’s 3-year-old daughter, Ava, who was adopted from Kazakhstan in 2007. Johnson mère also reportedly restricted Casey’s access to family money. Casey wanted her daughter back desperately and, according to friends, was ready to give rehab another go." (Observer)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Punk Rock Fan Appreciation Day. (image via thecobrasnake)



Would you sit on this man? (image via thecobrasnake)



Keep walking: No visible moose knuckles or cameltoes in this menagerie. (image via thecobrasnake)



Dick-y Rourke. (image via thecobrasnake)



"Mr. Tarantino, I'm ready for my close up." (image via thecobrasnake)



Just taking a little disco nap. (image via thecobrasnake)

Media Whore D'Oeuvres



"The G2 was a stillborn idea, because Beijing doesn't want the responsibilities, even though the United States pushed hard for this framework at the Obama-Hu Jintao summit in November. That won't last in 2010. In the future, we'll look back at that summit as the peak of the relationship, and we'll see significant deterioration in U.S.-Chinese relations in the coming year. The problem isn't Obama or Hu; both want to avoid ruffling feathers. But there are too many structural pressures for it to last. The United States is looking for more (and more responsible) international leadership from the Chinese -- stakeholdership continues to be the mantra in policy circles. But as clearly evidenced on climate change during the Copenhagen summit, the Chinese have little national interest in taking a lead role. In 2010, we'll see this trend also play out on nuclear proliferation, reform of rules of the road for international trade and commerce, cyber-security, and security in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond." (Foreignpolicy)



"For years, the month of January has sent a cold winter chill down the spine of Condé Nast employees. It's the time of the Si Surprise! He returns to work from his December vacation spot in Vienna, takes a look at the numbers, waves his magic wand and sends some part of his company into hysteria. (Remember last January? He folded Domino.) But this year? It's a warm and cuddly Condé! CEO Chuck Townsend is taking time over the next few weeks to sit down with staffers at every magazine, hold their hands and tell them that everything is going to be just fine. 'It's a rah-rah speech,' said one attendee of his talk." (Observer)



"Without hesitation, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations announced Beijing was not ready to impose additional sanctions against Iran, suspected by Western nations of trying to build an atomic bomb under the guise of nuclear energy. 'This is not the right time or right moment for sanctions because diplomatic efforts are still going on," Ambassador Zhang Yesui told reporters Tuesday. 'The efforts aimed at diplomatic negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue still need some time and patience... A peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic means will be the best option, and is also in the common interest of the international community because sanctions itself is not an end.' The United States, Britain and France, permanent Security Council members, can impose unilateral sanctions but they need Russia and China to get them through the 15-member Council. And any Western sanctions can be subverted by trade moving through China and most likely Russia, as well as a host of other nations. Usually Beijing follows Moscow's lead on Iran, while China leads the way on North Korea. But diplomats said Beijing was taking a tougher line, independent from Russia, fearing sanctions would encroach on trade and on oil exports." (HuffPo)



"Turkmenistan and Iran opened a new natural-gas pipeline to much fanfare on January 6, but considering its relatively modest capacity, the ribbon-cutting ceremony might have more political significance than anything. Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad arrived in the Turkmen capital on January 5 on the second leg of a Central Asian tour that began in Tajikistan and focused on regional and economic cooperation. Ahmadinejad picked up where he left off in Ashgabat, where he was expected to travel last week until an ongoing political crisis at home forced a delay. After a warm welcome from Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the two leaders retreated for private talks that were expected to result in agreements furthering bilateral cooperation. The icing on the cake, however, is the opening of the Dovletabat-Sarakhs-Khangiran pipeline, which comes at an opportune moment for both countries, and which Ahmadinejad hailed today as an opportunity to strengthen ties. The pipeline, when fully operational, will more than double Turkmen gas exports to Iran -- from 8 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually to 20 bcm -- while furthering Ashgabat's efforts to lessen its dependence on Russian-operated export routes. For Iran, the new gas supplies will alleviate gas shortages in its northern regions, while showcasing its value as a trade partner in the Caspian region at a time when its reputation is under question. Iran boasts the second-largest gas reserves in the world, but its dependence on gas for half of its energy needs opens the way for trade with Turkmenistan, which has the world's fourth-largest reserves." (RadioFreeEurope)



"Among the emails I got yesterday morning after the news broke was one from a writer friend who’s a veteran of the New York club scene of which Casey was a longtime hardcore habituee. He wrote: Shame about Casey Johnson. She always seemed like a poor soul to me – oddly dispirited for someone so young. My friend tapped it. I was reminded that that I too always saw her like that. You can even see it in the pictures." (NYSocialDiary)

Oil, Iran, Israel, Egypt and the Middle East



As the price of oil rises, what does this mean for Iran's nuclear posturing? According to Bloomberg, "Crude oil rose for an eighth day, trading above $80 a barrel for the first time in 7 weeks." The odd thing is that despite the fact that Iran is in fact oil rich -- it oversees 7 percent of the world’s oil reserves -- it is vulnerable to sanctions because its economy is stagnant (though, in a show of strength, Ahmadinejad just hailed the launch of a new gas pipeline with Turkmenistan). The Christian Science Monitor notes: "Refining capacity in Iran, which has the lowest gasoline price in the Middle East, stands at roughly 1.6 million barrels a day and doesn't meet the country's domestic fuel demand." It is the coldest winter in years, and oil prices are edging higher. If President Obama wants to make a deal with Iran, he'd better do it quickly.

To sanction or not to sanction, that is the question. Then there is the question of the Green Movement. It is still going strong -- reignited by last month's death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the spiritual father of Iran's reform movement --- thus weakening Ahmadinejad's position. His position could get weaker come January 16th, which marks 31 years since the Shah of Iran fled his country, and a flashpoint date for some form of mass protest. The national elections were rigged in the eyes of all objective outside observers. How can Ahmadinejad possibly negotiate with from a strong position with such internal disturbance? A possible Univeristy strike is in the works. The US Senate is set to review proposed sanctions sometime later this month. It is also widely assumed that in February the US will sponsor another resolution in the Security Council sanctioning Iran (Will Russia sign on? If so, will China, alone, raise objections). But how does the United States sanction Iran in such a way as to not harm the Green Movement? Andrew Sullivan asks:

"The Green Movement has strongly resisted all sanctions against Iran, and even more passionately opposes any military strikes. If Israel strikes, it will effectively kill the Iranian opposition movement, and set off a global wave of Jihadism which will kill many American soldiers and civilians. So how to respond to the Revolutionary Guards' continuing and mounting brutality?"

There is a feeling of a quickening in the Middle East region. A speeding up of time (Although Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is doing his best to stand athwart History yelling Stop; the Jerusalem Municipal Planning and Construction Committee as well). "2010 will likely be the year when any Israeli military strike would occur; my own hope is that it will not happen, and that instead we will continue to harness international indignation with Tehran to put pressure on its leaders," writes Michael O'Hanlon, director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. And Iran moves ever closer to the Bomb. And Israel refuses to let that happen.

In an act of spectacular idealism, the United States is proposing a Palestinian state in two years. How many other administrations have envisioned as much and left the region with nothing? The U.S. is pushing a fresh diplomatic initiative to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Egypt has been playing a key role. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has met with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the past week. This may also explain the Obama administration's accelerated timetable on Israel/Palestinian talks. And Egyptian officials are scheduled to visit Washington later this week. Even as Mubarak meets with the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia has been speaking to HAMAS, and reporting to the Egyptian President so that everyone is on the same page. Says Reuters, smartly: "Egypt has been hosting talks between Hamas and Fatah to try to push the two parties toward a deal, but Sunday's visit was the first known meeting between Saudi and Hamas officials since Saudi Arabia brokered the Mecca Agreement in 2007."

Finally, what about Jordan. Jordan is a partner in the negotiations. Jordan's King Abdallah flew into Egypt to discuss the matter with Mubarak. But it was a Jordanian suicide bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who killed seven CIA agents and a Jordanian intelligence officer when he detonated himself at the Khost base in Afghanistan last week. It is unclear to what degree this event has set back the cooperative relationship between Jordanian and American intelligence agencies.

Of the negotiations, Kurt Hoyer, a US embassy press attaché in Israel, told the Christian Science Monitor, "Its more like jazz music than like chess."

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"The evening before he was sworn into office, Barack Obama stepped out of Blair House, the government residence where he was staying across from the White House, and climbed into an armored limousine for the ride to a bipartisan dinner. Joining him in the back seat were John Brennan, his new counterterrorism adviser, and two foreign-policy advisers, Denis McDonough and Mark Lippert. The three men with the president-elect were out of breath, having rushed more than a mile from transition headquarters on foot after failing to find a taxi in Washington’s preinaugural madness. As the motorcade moved out, they updated Obama on gathering evidence of a major terrorist plot to attack his inauguration. After a weekend of round-the-clock analysis, the nation’s intelligence agencies were concerned that the threat was real, the men told him. A group of Somali extremists was reported to be coming across the border from Canada to detonate explosives as the new president took the oath of office. With more than a million onlookers viewing the ceremony from the National Mall and hundreds of millions more watching on television around the world, what could be a more devastating target?" (Peter Baker/NYTimes Magazine)



"Metromix: You're about to embark on a book tour. What kind of fans are you expecting? Tera Patrick: You know, everybody's a fan of porn. At Fashion Week, Kanye West came over to talk to me. Or I'll just run into someone at the local AT&T store or Forever 21 who knows me. And I've got a HUGE military following - there's been a lot 'you got me through five tours in Iraq' or 'we made our baby to you' types of comments. 99.9% of my fans are fabulous. Why would they be rude? I bring cheer and mirth! And without my fans - well, they gave me my life! They're the reason I have a nice car and live in a beautiful home. I'll stop and sign autographs or my book for anyone. I think I'm no different than any other hot chick - people look at Cameron Diaz the same way, they just haven't seen her naked. Look, I was put on Earth for a reason - maybe not to be a porn star - but I'm making the best of what I've got it." (Metromix)



"The suicide bomber who killed seven Central Intelligence Agency employees and contractors and a Jordanian intelligence officer was a double agent the CIA had recruited to provide intelligence on senior al Qaeda leadership, according to current and former U.S. officials and an Afghan security official. The officials said the bomber was a Jordanian doctor likely affiliated and working with al Qaeda. The Afghan security official identified the bomber as Hammam Khalil Abu Mallal al-Balawi, who is also known as Abu Dujana al-Khurasani. The Pakistani Taliban also claimed that Mr. al-Balawi was the bomber, Arabic-language Web sites reported Monday. Mr. al-Balawi was brought to the CIA's base in Khost Province by the Jordanian intelligence official, Sharif Ali bin Zeid, who was working with the CIA, according to the Afghan security official. The bomber appears to have been invited to an operational planning meeting on al Qaeda, a former senior U.S. intelligence official said. 'It looks like an al Qaeda double agent,' the former official said. 'It's very sophisticated for a terrorist group that's supposedly on the run.' The blast on Dec. 30 killed four CIA officers, including the Khost base chief; three CIA contractors; and Mr. bin Zeid, officials said. Six CIA employees were wounded in the attack." (WSJ)



"I saw in the New Year on Christian Louboutin's dahabiya (flat bottom boat) called the Dahabibi ('Love Boat') on the Nile at Luxor. We dined and danced (to Egyptian music) on the roof deck under a full moon. It was magic." (Fashionweekdaily)



(image via NYSD)

"Casey Johnson, an heiress to the vast and extensive pharmaceuticals fortune, was found dead yesterday in Los Angeles. She was thirty years old. Her death comes on the heels of another young Hollywood celebrity, an actress named Brittany Murphy. Casey had been renting the guest cottage on the property of a longtime family friend in West Hollywood. It was as if she'd come home to get out of the fray. Her life over the past couple of years had grown increasingly frenetic and even notorious in her public behavior. When she was bad, she was a nightmare. A monster. A brat. A disaster waiting to happen. All those things. And when she was good, she was a sweet child. An intelligent girl named Casey. Who ran into trouble as she moved into womanhood. I’d known her, known of her, since her early teenage years when she was a friend of Nicky and Paris Hilton in their early Southampton days, the summer kids coming of age." (NYSocialDiary)

2010 Media-Political-Cultural Predictions (with tongue in cheek)

In the final installment of holiday posts, here are my 2010 predictions:



Friends of Courtney Love -- including former lover Ed Norton -- will stage an intervention, hoping to save the former Hole lead singer from a path of self-destruction.



NewsCorp media mogul Rupert Murdoch will toy with the idea of placing Page Six's content behind a paywall, causing a stir in the gossip entertainment media complex. After much media debate, Murdoch decides not to do it.



Saturday Night Live will spin off Weekend Update (and Thursday Update) to a daily 30 minute format aired on MSNBC. The show will be political satire heavy, hosted by Seth Meyers.



Sumner Redstone will publicly apologize to Howard Stern, going so far as to say that he should have stuck up for the skockmeister against Bush's FCC, in an attempt to lure him back to embattled terrestrial radio, sticking it to his nemesis, Mel Karmazin. Redstone will offer Stern a record contract in mid-2010, in excess of the astonishing $500 million 5-year contract he presently has at XM-Sirius.



Naomi Campbell will become engaged to Russian oligarch Vladimir Dobronin, stirring up thoughtful conversation in Moscow about racism -- and anti-semitism -- throughout the country.



To the suprprise of everyone involved, Sean Penn and Madonna -- older and wiser this time -- will start dating again, sparking hugely premature talks of remarriage (as Liz Rosenberg will remind the media).



Disgraced 2004 Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards will form an exploratory committee to run an insurgent Progressive campaign against President Barack Obama. He will strike a populist tone, brushing off claims that his turgid personal life might be off putting to voters saying, in effect, "I'll let the voters decide whether or not they want me to be their candidate."



Artie Lange, was hospitalized in New Jersey over the weekend, will resign from the Howard Stern show to work out his substance abuse issues. Stern will audition several comedians over the summer to replace Lange, ultimately settling on former Stern show head writer Jackie Martling to the delight of longtime fans.



New York's 23rd District will serve as the template for a intra-party Republican crack-up even as the GOP makes gains in 2010. Mitt Romney will head the center-right coalition, using his book tour as a launching pad to a more national fiscal conservative profile, while Sarah Palin will rally the soaicl conservatives, but get tripped up on the minutiae of fiscal conservative policy.



The Howard Dean-Rahm Emmanuel Frisson will continue throughout much of 2010 with increasing calls from Progressives that Rahm be replaced as Chief of Staff by Dean. By year's end, however, President Obama will appoint Howard Dean a Special Advisor, calming a far left on the verge of bolting.



Mike Tyson will become a strong advocate for African children (beginning in Malawi), drawing upon his own rough experiences as a kid from Brooklyn. By year's end he will become an unlikely UNICEF Ambassador.



Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will spend the year aligning herself closely with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates -- the most powerful man in Obama's administration -- marrying toughness on the war on Terror with significant diplomatic achievements, making the Vice President the odd man out and setting herself up as Biden's possible replacement in 2012.



By the end of the year The Wall Street Journal will be widely regarded as a better, more competitive paper than The New York Times. Morale at the Gray Lady will be at an all-time low, ending the year with calls from all precincts for the Sulzberger's to sell the paper. David Geffen, Mort Zuckerman, Bloomberg LLC and Warren Buffett will be among the prominent names considering buying the moribund institution.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"We know all too well the unraveling that has gone on since the crash. Tiger’s little car ride was as pregnant with imminent implosion as the one taken by another sports celebrity on the San Diego Freeway, followed by a convoy of Los Angeles police cars, in 1994. Tiger’s story has been driven by sex, tons of it, in allegedly all different varieties: threesomes in which he greatly enjoyed girl-on-girl, and mild S&M (featuring hair-pulling and spanking); $60,000 pay-for-sex escort dates; a quickie against the side of a car in a church parking lot; a preference for porn stars and nightclub waitresses, virtually all of them with lips almost as thick as their very full breasts; drug-bolstered encounters designed to make him even more of a conquistador (Ambien, of all things); immature sex-text messages ('Send me something naughty ... Go to the bathroom and take [a picture],' 'I will wear you out ... When was the last time you got [laid]?'); soulful confessions that he got married only for image and was bored with his wife; regular payments of between $5,000 and $10,000 each month to keep his harem quiet." (VanityFair)



"Soon-to-be New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is hosting Russian leader Vladimir Putin at his $30 million French Alps chalet as a thank you for officially clearing his name. The billionaire Russian invited Putin to stay at his chalet in Courchevel after the Russian prime minister secured an apology from French authorities for dragging Prokhorov's name into a prostitution scandal. Now Prokhorov -- Russia's richest man -- and Putin have returned to celebrate in the same resort where the false claims were made, and to ski on mountains that will be closed to the public amid tight security. A source told Page Six: 'Putin arrived on Saturday with an entourage of 100 people. He is staying at Prokhorov's chalet, which is surrounded by a ring of tight security. 'Prokhorov invited him as a thank you for officially clearing his name. It is intended to be a very secret and private visit.'" (PageSix)



"One way to avoid all the hassle of going out on New year's Eve is to hold your own party, and it's safe to say that no other private celebration in the world could have rivalled Roman Abramovich's celebrity-packed event.
The billionaire Chelsea owner organised the extravagant do to usher in the new decade on his new (USD $87.5 million) estate on the Caribbean island of St Bart's. Guests including Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and his girlfriend Miranda Kerr were in attendance at the Gouverneur Bay estate — a 70-acre cove surrounded by hills that lead down to a beach. The budget for drinks, food and transport is believed to have been a staggering (USD $2.9 million) and fees for the performers totalled (USD $1.9 million). Performers on the night are said to have included Beyonce, Gwen Stefani and Prince, who was reportedly paid a (USD $811,000) fee. Beyonce was pictured on stage earlier in the night at the island's Nikki Beach restaurant, where husband Jay-Z and R&B singer Usher were also spotted. It is thought all three stars made their way to the oligarch's party after Beyonce's performance." (DailyMail)



"Over the first weekend of 2010, moviegoers still had their minds on the year 2154 as James Cameron's futuristic 3D adventure Avatar easily remained number one for a third consecutive frame breaking records and smashing the $1 billion global box office milestone in the process. With no new releases, the top ten was filled with the same movies as some dropped harder than others while a small handful enjoyed sales boosts thanks to Friday being a holiday for New Year's Day. The Top 20 grossed a scorching $220M kicking off the new decade on the right note. Dipping a mere 10% from its busy Christmas weekend haul, Avatar grossed a sensational $68.3M propelling its 17-day total to an eye-popping $352.1M. The sci-fi epic broke the record for the best third-weekend gross ever beating Spider-Man's $45M from May 2002. Even with today's higher ticket prices and 3D surcharges, Avatar still sold more tickets than the first webslinger pic - approximately 8.4 million vs. 7.8 million. Spider-Man was not helped by any holidays in its third weekend, however. The Na'vi pic also became the second fastest film in history to break the $350M mark. Only The Dark Knight did it quicker in 14 days on its way to a $533.3M final. Of the five films in the top ten that suffered declines this weekend, Avatar enjoyed the lowest drop meaning audiences are still happy with the product and spreading positive buzz. Many of the top-grossing movies of all-time started out with gargantuan numbers but then faded quickly. The mega-budgeted actioner has also grossed more than $10M each day of its release across 17 consecutive days - also a record. Avatar has hauled in the second largest 17-day start for any film and only trails The Dark Knight which made $393.8M last year by the end of its third weekend." (BoxOfiiceGuru)



"Neither a cold-blooded realist nor a bleeding-heart idealist, Barack Obama has a split personality when it comes to foreign policy. So do most U.S. presidents, of course, and the ideas that inspire this one have a long history at the core of the American political tradition. In the past, such ideas have served the country well. But the conflicting impulses influencing how this young leader thinks about the world threaten to tear his presidency apart -- and, in the worst scenario, turn him into a new Jimmy Carter." (Walter russell Meade/ForeignPolicy)



"It's all the rage at the moment to denounce the president's cool and his 'inability to connect.' Where did the inspiring Obama of the campaign go, that Facebook pied piper who friended the whole world with this update: Change you can believe in. What happened to him? Nothing, as it turns out... Obama was always this guy. When I met him in 2007 along with a small group of New York donors, he was just the same as he is as president. A bit wordy, a bit aloof, a bit theoretical. There was a hint of truculence when challenged to be specific on policy. The gaggle of demanding Park Avenue big shots who shared the elevator with me on the way down were underwhelmed. They also felt vaguely dissed. He had failed to make a fuss of any of them." (Tina Brown/TheDailyBeast)



"A brutal year was 2009, one of the scariest Hollywood and the world economy has seen in decades. And yet 2010 dawns with what should be a sense of optimism. In 2009, Hollywood underwent a vitally necessary correction, one that was painful but which places the entertainment industry on much healthier footing as it faces the future. The dark news came all year as production companies closed, independent movie studios floundered and studios and networks cut hundreds of jobs. People were eliminated at Warner Brothers (800), News Corp (400 at MySpace), Disney (1,900), Sony (300) and Lionsgate (45).DreamWorks sat idle for months as it struggled to close its funding from a reluctant Indian partner. That, after giving up its dreams of being an independent studio. MGM began its downward slide toward a still-unresolved end game. Universal and Disney both underwent clean sweeps of their top executive ranks, and brought in younger and – in Disney’s case – more aggressive change agents. Both Hollywood news trades went through serial cutbacks. Senator films sunk. Weinstein shrunk. The indie world sat there and shivered, as a whole." (Sharon Waxman/TheWrap)



(image via NYSD)

"New Year's Eve was a blast with fetes all over the place in all different sizes: Alfred Taubman and his beautiful wife Judy gave a small black tie seated dinner with treats such as caviar, vintage icy champagne, Chateau Margaux, mariachis and more." (PalmBeachSocialDiary)



"THE BEST BALL: By a mile, this honor goes to the annual Meridian Ball. For one thing, it drew a contingent of elusive young White House staff, but for another it was off the hook. From the dinners at embassies to the ball itself, everyone got loose, which is healthy, and into the wee hours, which means way past Washington’s official bedtime." (WashingtonSocilDiary)



"Not that it did cost $500 million to make -- but so what if it did? James Cameron’s 'Avatar' grossed a box-office-leading $25.2 million on New Year’s Day Friday, putting the Fox epic on pace to pass $300 million domestically on Saturday, according to studio estimates. And the 3D film is still picking up steam. It actually grew its total audience 9 percent from a week-two Friday, when it also shot up from its premiere. 'Avatar' is on pace to finish the three-day weekend with over $60 million in North America. With $476.2 million in foreign grosses coming into the weekend, it’s easily set to pass the $1 billion global benchmark within the next several weeks. Other highlights amid Friday’s buoyant New Year’s Day box office included Warner’s 'Blind Side' finishing fifth in its seventh week with $4.5 million, and crossing the $200 million mark in the process." (TheWrap)