An Amy Spindler Farewell
Sunday night most people will be watching Carmela's father's birthday party on The Soprano's, or Helen Mirren's suspenseful Prime Suspect 6 on Masterpiece Theater, but the TiVo players of the city's power players in the Fashion Industry will be on, just as the apricot-bronze sun goes rose, setting, they will be out in rememberance of Amy Spindler, former fashion critic of the New York Times and style editor of its magazines and fashion supplements, who died, far too soon, of brain cancer on February 27th, at 40.
Fashionweekdaily's Merle Ginsberg writes:
"Amy Spindler, one of the fashion world�s most beloved people and revered writers, will be eulogized this Sunday night in New York at the Rainbow Room. Her friends and co-workers from the New York Times Magazine have organized a memorial for the 40-year-old journalist, who died this past February after a long struggle with cancer.
"Ingrid Sischy will host the event and play emcee, and the speakers among the four hundred expected guests (the event is PRIVATE) will be New York Times Magazine style creative director Elizabeth Stewart (Amy�s best friend, co-worker, and whom Amy introduced to her husband Rob Bragin), Tom Ford, the New York Times Magazine�s Andy Port, writer Peter McQuaid, Diane von Furstenberg(Spindler helped write her latest book), and InStyle�s Hal Rubenstein."
Also attending will be Donatella Versace, Anna Wintour,, Donna Karan, KCD�s Ed Fillipowski, Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, Helmut Lang and Sandy Brant, many of whom, according to Merle Ginsberg of Fashionwire, will "help pick up the tab."
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Andre Leon Talley Gets Rave Reviews From ... Style.com
Some hyperbole from Style.com:
"'It was like Maria Callas at the Metropolitan!' said Oscar de la Renta, employing a little good-natured hyperbole to describe Vogue Editor at Large Andr� Leon Talley's international stage debut, last week with the Martha Graham Dance Company at City Center in New York. 'All the celebrities and friends were there for him,' de la Renta continued. Indeed, Vera Wang, Ralph and Ricky Lauren, Zac Posen, Anne Bass, Nan Kempner, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the evening�s chairwoman, Kimora Lee Simmons, all poured into the sold-out Midtown theater to witness Talley's dramatic narration of Edward Lear's poem The Owl and the Pussycat, a role Graham originally created in 1978 for Liza Minnelli."
And I wrote this back on December 3rd, but a lot of the new readers never saw it, so:
"Which high powered Conde Nast editor wrote this?
"I earned my Masters degree in French literature in the Spring of 1972. My topic was the pivotal role played by all the fabulous, exotic North African women in the world of poet Charles Baudelaire and painter Eugene Delacroix. My thesis was based on the whole sense of importance of Africa to the conception of Orientalism as it influenced art and literature in Nineteenth Century France, a topic in which I have a keen interest. Delacroix's Les Femmes d'Algiers featured prominently, as did Flaubert's Salambo. I truly loved writing my Master's thesis, and although I still yearned for the world of fashion, I moved on to pursuing my doctorate without hesistation."
Can you guess who wrote this?
One more clue:
"You see (Diana) Vreeland loved black culture. She loved the Saturday Morning Dance Show Soul Train; my grandmother cared nothing for it ... she went hog wild over every manifestation of black style. It all began, I think, with Josephine Baker, who truly was one of the most stylish women to ever walk this planet. Mrs. Vreeland loved to tell the story of watching a movie one night in the balcony of a Paris cinema back in the 30s. She had her elbows on the armrests and was intently watching this film, when all of a sudden, one of the armrests moved. She turned to see what was going on and found out that she had been resting her elbow not on the arm of a seat, but on the head of Josephine Baker's pet cheetah, and that both the magnificent cat and its magnificent owner were now getting up to leave. Mrs. Vreeland watched speechlessly as the cheetah padded in a stately fashion up the aisle of the theater, Josephine Baker walking regally behind, wearing a daring, bias-cut Vionnet dress with no underwear on underneath."
If you guessed that this is the wonderful Andre Leon Talley's ALT, then give yourself a pat on the back. Basta!
Some hyperbole from Style.com:
"'It was like Maria Callas at the Metropolitan!' said Oscar de la Renta, employing a little good-natured hyperbole to describe Vogue Editor at Large Andr� Leon Talley's international stage debut, last week with the Martha Graham Dance Company at City Center in New York. 'All the celebrities and friends were there for him,' de la Renta continued. Indeed, Vera Wang, Ralph and Ricky Lauren, Zac Posen, Anne Bass, Nan Kempner, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the evening�s chairwoman, Kimora Lee Simmons, all poured into the sold-out Midtown theater to witness Talley's dramatic narration of Edward Lear's poem The Owl and the Pussycat, a role Graham originally created in 1978 for Liza Minnelli."
And I wrote this back on December 3rd, but a lot of the new readers never saw it, so:
"Which high powered Conde Nast editor wrote this?
"I earned my Masters degree in French literature in the Spring of 1972. My topic was the pivotal role played by all the fabulous, exotic North African women in the world of poet Charles Baudelaire and painter Eugene Delacroix. My thesis was based on the whole sense of importance of Africa to the conception of Orientalism as it influenced art and literature in Nineteenth Century France, a topic in which I have a keen interest. Delacroix's Les Femmes d'Algiers featured prominently, as did Flaubert's Salambo. I truly loved writing my Master's thesis, and although I still yearned for the world of fashion, I moved on to pursuing my doctorate without hesistation."
Can you guess who wrote this?
One more clue:
"You see (Diana) Vreeland loved black culture. She loved the Saturday Morning Dance Show Soul Train; my grandmother cared nothing for it ... she went hog wild over every manifestation of black style. It all began, I think, with Josephine Baker, who truly was one of the most stylish women to ever walk this planet. Mrs. Vreeland loved to tell the story of watching a movie one night in the balcony of a Paris cinema back in the 30s. She had her elbows on the armrests and was intently watching this film, when all of a sudden, one of the armrests moved. She turned to see what was going on and found out that she had been resting her elbow not on the arm of a seat, but on the head of Josephine Baker's pet cheetah, and that both the magnificent cat and its magnificent owner were now getting up to leave. Mrs. Vreeland watched speechlessly as the cheetah padded in a stately fashion up the aisle of the theater, Josephine Baker walking regally behind, wearing a daring, bias-cut Vionnet dress with no underwear on underneath."
If you guessed that this is the wonderful Andre Leon Talley's ALT, then give yourself a pat on the back. Basta!
NY Times Sunday: Bushies Worried About Climate Change Film and, Will Frist Close Down Senate?
Where's the love Rupert Murdoch?
Although Earth Day was celebrated officially two days ago, and the Administration was caught flat-footed to Kerry's bad-on-the-environment charge (which is a space Karl Rove doesn't like to be at), and the Bushies have been working overtime to project a teflon image over the environment.
So it comes as no surpise that Drudge is reporting that the Administration is not happy about Fox's new $125 million enviro-disaster film. It isn't personal, guys, it's business. Drudge writes:
"Fed agencies employees (will) not to comment publicly on FOX's new summer fuss-film THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, a $125 million disaster movie on 'global warming.'
"The flick, which depicts how accumulating smokestack and tailpipe gases sets off an instant ice age, is set to open on May 28.
"Few climate experts think such a prospect is likely, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report on Sunday, newsroom sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT, but the prospect that moviegoers will be alarmed enough to blame the Bush administration for inattention to climate change has stirred alarm at the space agency.
"'No one from NASA is to do interviews or otherwise comment on anything having to do with' the film, said an April 1 message to employees."
As if the Bushies are going to get the environmental vote. Not bloody likely, but they do have to trim off the hunters and fishermen and some outdoorsy folks in vital rural states, like Oregon, New Mexico and New Hampshire, where the environment is a point of pride
Actually, though, there is a serious story about conservative hunters and fishermen turning against the corporate centric environmental policy. Remember when we could eat Tuna and Swordfish? Sigh ...
Oliver Beekman in the Guardian wrote presciently, over a year ago, in March 2003:
"The US Republican party is changing tactics on the environment, avoiding 'frightening' phrases such as global warming, after a confidential party memo warned that it is the domestic issue on which George Bush is most vulnerable.
"The memo, by the leading Republican consultant Frank Luntz, concedes the party has "lost the environmental communications battle" and urges its politicians to encourage the public in the view that there is no scientific consensus on the dangers of greenhouse gases.
"'The scientific debate is closing [against us] but not yet closed. There is still a window of opportunity to challenge the science,' Mr Luntz writes in the memo, obtained by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based campaigning organisation.
"Voters believe that there is no consensus about global warming within the scientific community. Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly.
"Therefore, you need to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue in the debate.
"The phrase 'global warming' should be abandoned in favour of 'climate change,' Mr Luntz says, and the party should describe its policies as 'conservationist' instead of 'environmentalist,' because 'most people' think environmentalists are 'extremists' who indulge in 'some pretty bizarre behaviour... that turns off many voters.'
"Words such as 'common sense' should be used, with pro-business arguments avoided wherever possible.
"The environment, the memo says, 'is probably the single issue on which Republicans in general - and President Bush in particular - are most vulnerable.'
"A Republican source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said party strategists agreed with Mr Luntz's conclusion that 'many Americans believe Republicans do not care about the environment.'
"The popular image is that they are 'in the pockets of corporate fat cats who rub their hands together and chuckle manically [sic] as they plot to pollute America for fun and profit', Mr Luntz adds.
Read the UK Guardian article in full here.
Read Jennifer 8. Lee's NY Times article a year ago on the memo here.
And, if you are interested, my interview with Dr. Richard A. Muller, a wonderful guy who just happens to be an expert on Ice Ages and global change over milennia.
And, in other news, Robert Novack today reports:
"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being urged by colleagues to threaten to close down the Senate for the rest of the year unless Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle ends his disruptive tactics.
"In addition to menacing all judicial nominations, Daschle is now preventing legislation from being sent to Senate-House conferences to resolve differences in bills passed by both Houses unless the outcome is guaranteed.
"Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and other conservatives want Frist to counter Daschle by bringing the business of the Senate to a halt. This would mean passing an omnibus appropriations bill and then awaiting the outcome of the elections. Democrats could not offer their pet amendments, but it also would prevent passage of a budget resolution and, therefore, kill any chance of making the Bush tax cuts permanent."
As the NY Times reports today, the partisanship and divisions within the nation are strongly echoed in the halls of congress where, decimatingSenate tradition, Frist will openly campaign in South Dakota against his counterpart, Daschle, in his back yard.
That's cold.
Where's the love Rupert Murdoch?
Although Earth Day was celebrated officially two days ago, and the Administration was caught flat-footed to Kerry's bad-on-the-environment charge (which is a space Karl Rove doesn't like to be at), and the Bushies have been working overtime to project a teflon image over the environment.
So it comes as no surpise that Drudge is reporting that the Administration is not happy about Fox's new $125 million enviro-disaster film. It isn't personal, guys, it's business. Drudge writes:
"Fed agencies employees (will) not to comment publicly on FOX's new summer fuss-film THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, a $125 million disaster movie on 'global warming.'
"The flick, which depicts how accumulating smokestack and tailpipe gases sets off an instant ice age, is set to open on May 28.
"Few climate experts think such a prospect is likely, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report on Sunday, newsroom sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT, but the prospect that moviegoers will be alarmed enough to blame the Bush administration for inattention to climate change has stirred alarm at the space agency.
"'No one from NASA is to do interviews or otherwise comment on anything having to do with' the film, said an April 1 message to employees."
As if the Bushies are going to get the environmental vote. Not bloody likely, but they do have to trim off the hunters and fishermen and some outdoorsy folks in vital rural states, like Oregon, New Mexico and New Hampshire, where the environment is a point of pride
Actually, though, there is a serious story about conservative hunters and fishermen turning against the corporate centric environmental policy. Remember when we could eat Tuna and Swordfish? Sigh ...
Oliver Beekman in the Guardian wrote presciently, over a year ago, in March 2003:
"The US Republican party is changing tactics on the environment, avoiding 'frightening' phrases such as global warming, after a confidential party memo warned that it is the domestic issue on which George Bush is most vulnerable.
"The memo, by the leading Republican consultant Frank Luntz, concedes the party has "lost the environmental communications battle" and urges its politicians to encourage the public in the view that there is no scientific consensus on the dangers of greenhouse gases.
"'The scientific debate is closing [against us] but not yet closed. There is still a window of opportunity to challenge the science,' Mr Luntz writes in the memo, obtained by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based campaigning organisation.
"Voters believe that there is no consensus about global warming within the scientific community. Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly.
"Therefore, you need to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue in the debate.
"The phrase 'global warming' should be abandoned in favour of 'climate change,' Mr Luntz says, and the party should describe its policies as 'conservationist' instead of 'environmentalist,' because 'most people' think environmentalists are 'extremists' who indulge in 'some pretty bizarre behaviour... that turns off many voters.'
"Words such as 'common sense' should be used, with pro-business arguments avoided wherever possible.
"The environment, the memo says, 'is probably the single issue on which Republicans in general - and President Bush in particular - are most vulnerable.'
"A Republican source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said party strategists agreed with Mr Luntz's conclusion that 'many Americans believe Republicans do not care about the environment.'
"The popular image is that they are 'in the pockets of corporate fat cats who rub their hands together and chuckle manically [sic] as they plot to pollute America for fun and profit', Mr Luntz adds.
Read the UK Guardian article in full here.
Read Jennifer 8. Lee's NY Times article a year ago on the memo here.
And, if you are interested, my interview with Dr. Richard A. Muller, a wonderful guy who just happens to be an expert on Ice Ages and global change over milennia.
And, in other news, Robert Novack today reports:
"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being urged by colleagues to threaten to close down the Senate for the rest of the year unless Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle ends his disruptive tactics.
"In addition to menacing all judicial nominations, Daschle is now preventing legislation from being sent to Senate-House conferences to resolve differences in bills passed by both Houses unless the outcome is guaranteed.
"Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and other conservatives want Frist to counter Daschle by bringing the business of the Senate to a halt. This would mean passing an omnibus appropriations bill and then awaiting the outcome of the elections. Democrats could not offer their pet amendments, but it also would prevent passage of a budget resolution and, therefore, kill any chance of making the Bush tax cuts permanent."
As the NY Times reports today, the partisanship and divisions within the nation are strongly echoed in the halls of congress where, decimatingSenate tradition, Frist will openly campaign in South Dakota against his counterpart, Daschle, in his back yard.
That's cold.
Smackdown: Dick Morris vs Bill Clinton
reprinted from February 11th:
From Behind the Oval Office, by Dick Morris p. 64-5:
"At about midnight, (then Governor Bill)Clinton joined Hillary, Gloria Cabe, his campaign manager, and me in a cozy breakfst room off the kitchen. My polling (for a 1990 gubernatorial reelection fight) showed that McRae offensive (Bill's ooponent) had dropped Clinton's share vote to a meage 43 percent. Generally, when an incumbent's share of the polls dropped below 50 percent in the polls, it means he is likely to lose ... Clinton's temper got the better of him. Exhausted, worried, and angry, he exploded. 'You got me into this race,' he screamed, 'so you could make some extra money off me. That was the only reason. And now you give me no attention, no attention at all. I'm about to lose this election, this primary, against a nobody' ... Clinton has a terrible temper ... In pain and facing that harsh criticism, I lost my temper too. If he was too hasty in his criticism, I was too sharp in my reply. Storming out of the breakfast room through the kitchen toward the door outside, I rallied, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've just solved my problem. I'm getting shit from Atwater and shit from Lott for working for you, and now I can solve my problem. Go fuck yourself. I'm quitting your goddamn campaign, and now I am a free agent. I can be a fifty state Republican and don't have to take your shit.'
"Clinton charged up behind me as I stalked towards the door, grabbed me from behind, and wrapped his arms around me to stop me from leaving. I slipped to the floor. Hillary helped me to my feet. The moment I stood up Clinton became apologetic. 'Don't go, don't go I'm sorry. Don't go, I;m sorry,' he said as I walked out the door, slamming it behind me.. Hillary ran after me to calm me down. She put her arms around my shoulders and walked me around the grounds of the mansion. "Please forgive him," she pleaded. 'He's under so much pressure. He didn't mean it. He's very sorry. He's overtired, he hasn't slept well in days. He's not himself. He values you. He needs you,' she repeated.
"I calmed down enough to drive to my hotel, and I called Eileen (his wife) shaking in rage. Later Hillary called to tell me how much Bill wanted me back. Then he came on line to apologize ... I couldn't leave Clinton three weeks before his primary, but from then on I dealt with him in a formal, almost frosty way. I stopped calling him Bill, always adressed him as Governor, and left when our meetings were over rather than hang around and chat."
reprinted from February 11th:
From Behind the Oval Office, by Dick Morris p. 64-5:
"At about midnight, (then Governor Bill)Clinton joined Hillary, Gloria Cabe, his campaign manager, and me in a cozy breakfst room off the kitchen. My polling (for a 1990 gubernatorial reelection fight) showed that McRae offensive (Bill's ooponent) had dropped Clinton's share vote to a meage 43 percent. Generally, when an incumbent's share of the polls dropped below 50 percent in the polls, it means he is likely to lose ... Clinton's temper got the better of him. Exhausted, worried, and angry, he exploded. 'You got me into this race,' he screamed, 'so you could make some extra money off me. That was the only reason. And now you give me no attention, no attention at all. I'm about to lose this election, this primary, against a nobody' ... Clinton has a terrible temper ... In pain and facing that harsh criticism, I lost my temper too. If he was too hasty in his criticism, I was too sharp in my reply. Storming out of the breakfast room through the kitchen toward the door outside, I rallied, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've just solved my problem. I'm getting shit from Atwater and shit from Lott for working for you, and now I can solve my problem. Go fuck yourself. I'm quitting your goddamn campaign, and now I am a free agent. I can be a fifty state Republican and don't have to take your shit.'
"Clinton charged up behind me as I stalked towards the door, grabbed me from behind, and wrapped his arms around me to stop me from leaving. I slipped to the floor. Hillary helped me to my feet. The moment I stood up Clinton became apologetic. 'Don't go, don't go I'm sorry. Don't go, I;m sorry,' he said as I walked out the door, slamming it behind me.. Hillary ran after me to calm me down. She put her arms around my shoulders and walked me around the grounds of the mansion. "Please forgive him," she pleaded. 'He's under so much pressure. He didn't mean it. He's very sorry. He's overtired, he hasn't slept well in days. He's not himself. He values you. He needs you,' she repeated.
"I calmed down enough to drive to my hotel, and I called Eileen (his wife) shaking in rage. Later Hillary called to tell me how much Bill wanted me back. Then he came on line to apologize ... I couldn't leave Clinton three weeks before his primary, but from then on I dealt with him in a formal, almost frosty way. I stopped calling him Bill, always adressed him as Governor, and left when our meetings were over rather than hang around and chat."
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Blender's 50 Worst Songs EVER
Blender Magazine has rated the 50 Worst Songs Ever, with the usual suspects making the perp walk into the snark. The NKOTB, Right Said Fred, even Color Me Badd manfully earn their bitchslaps. But rocking in at number one as the worst song ever is Jefferson Airplane's We Built This City on Rock and Roll.
C'mon guys, haven't you ever heard Chumbawumba's Tub Thumping and Kajagoogoo's Too Shy?
What is your worst song ever? Weigh in in the comments section or on VH1's Best Week Ever.
(no blog tommorrow. too much work. saturday I'll be back)
Blender Magazine has rated the 50 Worst Songs Ever, with the usual suspects making the perp walk into the snark. The NKOTB, Right Said Fred, even Color Me Badd manfully earn their bitchslaps. But rocking in at number one as the worst song ever is Jefferson Airplane's We Built This City on Rock and Roll.
C'mon guys, haven't you ever heard Chumbawumba's Tub Thumping and Kajagoogoo's Too Shy?
What is your worst song ever? Weigh in in the comments section or on VH1's Best Week Ever.
(no blog tommorrow. too much work. saturday I'll be back)
A Little of the Old In and Out
In: Gerardo. "I'm used to good old fashioned homestyle Spanish cooking/ If I try that I'll be puking." Just so you know, we like Rico Suave, o snarky editors at Blender Magazine (shakes fist impotently at computer screen)
Out: This Gene Simmons quote in the May 2004 Details Magazine profoundly disturbs me. "If I ever go to jail, I want Lenny (Kravitz) there with me. He's pretty. He'd be very popular in jail." (shivers)
In: Lindsayism. Our favorite Comedy Central employee posts emails she solicited regarding sex related "high ideas,"or ideas that come to one when one is in an altered, somewhat pharmaceutical state. Here's one:
" ... It'd be cool if there was a pill you could take before sex that would allow you to read your partner's thoughts. Of course, it would ruin the mood when you realize that I'm doing a mental panel-by-panel reconstruction of the Spider-Man series, 'Return of The Sinister Six.' And by the way, after while we're cuddling and you're plotting out the trajectory of our hypothetical romance (2.5 kids, vacations at the Cape, Christmas with your parents, his & hers matching gravestones), I'm working on the follow-up, 'Revenge
of the Sinister Six.'"
Out: As previously mentioned, or at least hinted at, Blender Magazine has listed the 50 Worst Songs Ever. Rocking in at number one is Jefferson Starship's "We Built This City on Rock and Roll."
In: Chesty UK model Jordan, famous for being famous, has excepts from her new bio Being Jordan in OK! Magazine, reports Ananova. Here's a sample:
"Jordan said: 'I didn't feel starstruck by Victoria but I must admit to feeling a bit of a thrill around David. He is so good-looking, has such a fit body and is so nice with it.
"One night in July, after Dane and Victoria had performed their single at Party in the Park, the four of us went clubbing to Twice as Nice so Victoria could look credible on the R 'n' B scene.
"Dane was DJing and I was standing with the famous couple. Suddenly I felt someone take my hand and squeeze it gently as it to reassure me that I shouldn't be overawed by all the hype.
"It was David. I looked at him in surprise and he was looking right back at me. Imagine how you would feel if David Beckham held your hand!
"Victoria was standing right next to him, so I thought I'd better keep my mouth shut. She is so incredibly possessive that if women so much as say they fancy David she goes mad.
"I would have given anything for her to disappear at that moment and leave me alone with one of the world's sexiest men.
"But I guess I'll never really know what David was thinking. Maybe he was showing that he understood what it was like to be caught up in Dane and Victoria's desperate bid to get to number one ..."
Out: Jude Law's ex Sadie Frost. The woman is frosty. Has anyone ever seen a picture of this woman smiling? Apparently, she was recently observed banging on Jude Law's door demanding to speak to him, according to The Mirror:
" ... We hear it was the mother of all bust-ups between the former darlings of the Britpack scene.
"Apparently, Sadie - who lives just round the corner - turned up very late at night with her current squeeze, Jackson Scott, in tow.
"The 37-year-old mother-of-four started banging on the door demanding Jude let her in, saying there were, 'Things she needed to discuss with him.'
"But 31-year-old Jude was having none of it. The furious Cold Mountain star refused to let his ex-missus in because she was in such a 'state,' which made Sadie even more angry."
Damn ... we can relate to Jude all of a sudden. Don't you feel human compassion for this man? Having his shit all out in public like this. Evil bloggers like me all up in his business. Scandalous.
"Our spy reveals: 'It was one of the ugliest arguments they've had for ages.
"'Sadie feels very embarrassed by the whole thing, but as far as she is concerned it wouldn't have ever happened if Jude had let her in.
"'She was screaming and shouting at him and even Jackson was chipping in.'"
Damn. Even Jackson had to speak his mind:
"Sadie hates the fact that she was washing her dirty laundry in public. She was well aware of the curtains twitching - at one point she even thought someone had started taking pictures of the confrontation. If they do exist she's desperate for them not to come out."
Hey, Sadie, if you hate it so much, pop a prozac and stop doing what you're doing. There. I said out loud what we all were thinking.
In: Jennifer Garner. We predicted the ascent of the anti-Christ about a month ago. Should 13 Going on 30 hit number one at the box office this weekend, then the rise to power will be complete: Jennifer Garner will overtake Julia Roberts as the Hollywood "It" Girl. And that significant cultural artifact The Star Magazine has a nifty little item regarding that:
"With the buzz surrounding the release of her new romantic comedy 13 Going On 30, Jennifer Garner, 32, is Tinseltown's new 'It' girl. Her hilarious turn as a young teen who wakes up to find herself in her 30s has Hollywood calling her the next Julia Roberts. But sources say one person doesn't appreciate the comparison: Julia herself.
"'When reviews started coming in for Jennifer's movie, people were saying she was the new Pretty Woman, and Julia wasn't happy about it,' says a source close to Roberts."
The Corsair whispers, " ... catfight ... catfight ..."
" ... Garner's career is hot. Not only is she filming more Alias episodes, but she's gearing up for her star turn in Elektra, the spin-off of the successful Daredevil movie, which grossed over $100 million. Her other films, Catch Me If You Can and Pearl Harbor, fared equally well.
"Julia's recent roles haven't been noteworthy. Reports indicate that Mona Lisa Smile made only $63 million in the US (though Roberts took home $25 million for her salary). Her other recent films, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Full Frontal barely made a blip on the radar.
"Days before Mona Lisa Smile was released, Roberts told a crowd of journalists, 'Because I've had lots of great career opportunities and I've built on them over a long period of time, the kind of attention I give to my career can be very sporadic. And of my choosing.'"
Love Jennifer Garner or hate her (and The Corsair loves her dimpled sweetness), she is hungry for the heights of fame. I have never seen a celebrity stake out the top spot like she did, prowling around it, staring at the perch with haunted eyes, the CIA site, the courting of the geeks at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science Scientific and Technical Awards, Alias, Electra, now this. Damn, she's hungrier than Tom Cruise on his way up.
Out: Senator Arlen Spector. Everyone hates this fucker. Conservatives, because he is mild. God, how conservatives hate Spector, it is an awesome sight. Liberals hate him because he is one mean motherfucker, screaming at his twentysomething aides. According to the Hill's Peter Savodnik and Geoff Earle:
"Conservative activists backing Rep. Pat Toomey�s Senate bid are voicing doubts that the congressman has enough money or shock troops to counter the statewide, multimedia campaign being waged by Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania�s Republican primary.
"While a recent Quinnipiac University poll put Toomey within five points of Specter � marking a significant tightening of the race � the activists said the conservative House member from Allentown needs to do a better job mobilizing his base."
So, Specter wins, but in the end, he loses.
In: Gerardo. "I'm used to good old fashioned homestyle Spanish cooking/ If I try that I'll be puking." Just so you know, we like Rico Suave, o snarky editors at Blender Magazine (shakes fist impotently at computer screen)
Out: This Gene Simmons quote in the May 2004 Details Magazine profoundly disturbs me. "If I ever go to jail, I want Lenny (Kravitz) there with me. He's pretty. He'd be very popular in jail." (shivers)
In: Lindsayism. Our favorite Comedy Central employee posts emails she solicited regarding sex related "high ideas,"or ideas that come to one when one is in an altered, somewhat pharmaceutical state. Here's one:
" ... It'd be cool if there was a pill you could take before sex that would allow you to read your partner's thoughts. Of course, it would ruin the mood when you realize that I'm doing a mental panel-by-panel reconstruction of the Spider-Man series, 'Return of The Sinister Six.' And by the way, after while we're cuddling and you're plotting out the trajectory of our hypothetical romance (2.5 kids, vacations at the Cape, Christmas with your parents, his & hers matching gravestones), I'm working on the follow-up, 'Revenge
of the Sinister Six.'"
Out: As previously mentioned, or at least hinted at, Blender Magazine has listed the 50 Worst Songs Ever. Rocking in at number one is Jefferson Starship's "We Built This City on Rock and Roll."
In: Chesty UK model Jordan, famous for being famous, has excepts from her new bio Being Jordan in OK! Magazine, reports Ananova. Here's a sample:
"Jordan said: 'I didn't feel starstruck by Victoria but I must admit to feeling a bit of a thrill around David. He is so good-looking, has such a fit body and is so nice with it.
"One night in July, after Dane and Victoria had performed their single at Party in the Park, the four of us went clubbing to Twice as Nice so Victoria could look credible on the R 'n' B scene.
"Dane was DJing and I was standing with the famous couple. Suddenly I felt someone take my hand and squeeze it gently as it to reassure me that I shouldn't be overawed by all the hype.
"It was David. I looked at him in surprise and he was looking right back at me. Imagine how you would feel if David Beckham held your hand!
"Victoria was standing right next to him, so I thought I'd better keep my mouth shut. She is so incredibly possessive that if women so much as say they fancy David she goes mad.
"I would have given anything for her to disappear at that moment and leave me alone with one of the world's sexiest men.
"But I guess I'll never really know what David was thinking. Maybe he was showing that he understood what it was like to be caught up in Dane and Victoria's desperate bid to get to number one ..."
Out: Jude Law's ex Sadie Frost. The woman is frosty. Has anyone ever seen a picture of this woman smiling? Apparently, she was recently observed banging on Jude Law's door demanding to speak to him, according to The Mirror:
" ... We hear it was the mother of all bust-ups between the former darlings of the Britpack scene.
"Apparently, Sadie - who lives just round the corner - turned up very late at night with her current squeeze, Jackson Scott, in tow.
"The 37-year-old mother-of-four started banging on the door demanding Jude let her in, saying there were, 'Things she needed to discuss with him.'
"But 31-year-old Jude was having none of it. The furious Cold Mountain star refused to let his ex-missus in because she was in such a 'state,' which made Sadie even more angry."
Damn ... we can relate to Jude all of a sudden. Don't you feel human compassion for this man? Having his shit all out in public like this. Evil bloggers like me all up in his business. Scandalous.
"Our spy reveals: 'It was one of the ugliest arguments they've had for ages.
"'Sadie feels very embarrassed by the whole thing, but as far as she is concerned it wouldn't have ever happened if Jude had let her in.
"'She was screaming and shouting at him and even Jackson was chipping in.'"
Damn. Even Jackson had to speak his mind:
"Sadie hates the fact that she was washing her dirty laundry in public. She was well aware of the curtains twitching - at one point she even thought someone had started taking pictures of the confrontation. If they do exist she's desperate for them not to come out."
Hey, Sadie, if you hate it so much, pop a prozac and stop doing what you're doing. There. I said out loud what we all were thinking.
In: Jennifer Garner. We predicted the ascent of the anti-Christ about a month ago. Should 13 Going on 30 hit number one at the box office this weekend, then the rise to power will be complete: Jennifer Garner will overtake Julia Roberts as the Hollywood "It" Girl. And that significant cultural artifact The Star Magazine has a nifty little item regarding that:
"With the buzz surrounding the release of her new romantic comedy 13 Going On 30, Jennifer Garner, 32, is Tinseltown's new 'It' girl. Her hilarious turn as a young teen who wakes up to find herself in her 30s has Hollywood calling her the next Julia Roberts. But sources say one person doesn't appreciate the comparison: Julia herself.
"'When reviews started coming in for Jennifer's movie, people were saying she was the new Pretty Woman, and Julia wasn't happy about it,' says a source close to Roberts."
The Corsair whispers, " ... catfight ... catfight ..."
" ... Garner's career is hot. Not only is she filming more Alias episodes, but she's gearing up for her star turn in Elektra, the spin-off of the successful Daredevil movie, which grossed over $100 million. Her other films, Catch Me If You Can and Pearl Harbor, fared equally well.
"Julia's recent roles haven't been noteworthy. Reports indicate that Mona Lisa Smile made only $63 million in the US (though Roberts took home $25 million for her salary). Her other recent films, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Full Frontal barely made a blip on the radar.
"Days before Mona Lisa Smile was released, Roberts told a crowd of journalists, 'Because I've had lots of great career opportunities and I've built on them over a long period of time, the kind of attention I give to my career can be very sporadic. And of my choosing.'"
Love Jennifer Garner or hate her (and The Corsair loves her dimpled sweetness), she is hungry for the heights of fame. I have never seen a celebrity stake out the top spot like she did, prowling around it, staring at the perch with haunted eyes, the CIA site, the courting of the geeks at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science Scientific and Technical Awards, Alias, Electra, now this. Damn, she's hungrier than Tom Cruise on his way up.
Out: Senator Arlen Spector. Everyone hates this fucker. Conservatives, because he is mild. God, how conservatives hate Spector, it is an awesome sight. Liberals hate him because he is one mean motherfucker, screaming at his twentysomething aides. According to the Hill's Peter Savodnik and Geoff Earle:
"Conservative activists backing Rep. Pat Toomey�s Senate bid are voicing doubts that the congressman has enough money or shock troops to counter the statewide, multimedia campaign being waged by Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania�s Republican primary.
"While a recent Quinnipiac University poll put Toomey within five points of Specter � marking a significant tightening of the race � the activists said the conservative House member from Allentown needs to do a better job mobilizing his base."
So, Specter wins, but in the end, he loses.
David Gave the Seed
In the May 2004 Interview Magazine, JT Leroy comes to the window of Melissa Etheridge.
JT Leroy: Do your kids know that David Crosby is their biological father?
Melissa Etheridge: Yeah, they do. He's never been any kind of parent to my kids -- they see him maybe once or twice a year. But they know that it was David who gave the seed that allowed them to be born; that is all. It was a gift from him and his wife.
Hmmm. And what a meaningful gift. Bummer, though, to be a 5 year old and a 7 year old finding out that that David Crosby gave the seed that allowed you to be born.
Imagine how "the talk" played itself out:
Melissa: Kids, do you know that your biological father was a famous musician?
Bailey: Is it Sting, Mama, he's so socially conscious.
Beckett: Is it Billy Joel, Mama, he's such a dreamer.
Melissa: Uh, no ... it's ...
Beckett: Is it Mick Jagger, Mama? he's like a force of nature.
Bailey: Is it Elton John, Mama? He's so romantic.
Melissa: Uhm, did I say famous? I meant, sorta famous.
(uncomfortable silence)
Bailey: Well, Jackson Brown would be okay, I suppose. Is it him Mama?
Beckett: Phil Collins wouldn't be too much of a let down. Say it's him, Mama; you're scaring us.
Melissa: (fake smile) no, kids, David Crosby!
(uncomfortable silence)
Bailey: Mama's making a funny.
Beckett: Oh, ha-ha-ha, Mama, ha-ha, you're so funny.
Melissa: No, kids, (seriously) David gave the seed that allowed you to be born.
(kids turn to one another)
Together: EEeeeeewwwww
In the May 2004 Interview Magazine, JT Leroy comes to the window of Melissa Etheridge.
JT Leroy: Do your kids know that David Crosby is their biological father?
Melissa Etheridge: Yeah, they do. He's never been any kind of parent to my kids -- they see him maybe once or twice a year. But they know that it was David who gave the seed that allowed them to be born; that is all. It was a gift from him and his wife.
Hmmm. And what a meaningful gift. Bummer, though, to be a 5 year old and a 7 year old finding out that that David Crosby gave the seed that allowed you to be born.
Imagine how "the talk" played itself out:
Melissa: Kids, do you know that your biological father was a famous musician?
Bailey: Is it Sting, Mama, he's so socially conscious.
Beckett: Is it Billy Joel, Mama, he's such a dreamer.
Melissa: Uh, no ... it's ...
Beckett: Is it Mick Jagger, Mama? he's like a force of nature.
Bailey: Is it Elton John, Mama? He's so romantic.
Melissa: Uhm, did I say famous? I meant, sorta famous.
(uncomfortable silence)
Bailey: Well, Jackson Brown would be okay, I suppose. Is it him Mama?
Beckett: Phil Collins wouldn't be too much of a let down. Say it's him, Mama; you're scaring us.
Melissa: (fake smile) no, kids, David Crosby!
(uncomfortable silence)
Bailey: Mama's making a funny.
Beckett: Oh, ha-ha-ha, Mama, ha-ha, you're so funny.
Melissa: No, kids, (seriously) David gave the seed that allowed you to be born.
(kids turn to one another)
Together: EEeeeeewwwww
Lauren Bush: The UN Feeds You Well
Morgan Goldberg interviews the hot 19 year old Presidential neice Lauren Bush today for Fashionweekdaily, and comes up with this little chestnut:
"Goldberg: What did you eat today?
"Bush: I had an egg whites scrambled with cheese for breakfast. And for lunch I ate the buffet here at the UN: greens, shrimp salad, grilled vegetables, a roll and dessert. The chocolate cake was amazing. The UN feeds you well."
Of course, one would not expect a mannequin like Lauren to be up on geopolitical affairs, but, in fact, quite ironically, the UN does not feed anyone well.
Seriously, people, we need to get rid of Kofi Annan as Secreatary General, and appoint a former US President in his place.
Morgan Goldberg interviews the hot 19 year old Presidential neice Lauren Bush today for Fashionweekdaily, and comes up with this little chestnut:
"Goldberg: What did you eat today?
"Bush: I had an egg whites scrambled with cheese for breakfast. And for lunch I ate the buffet here at the UN: greens, shrimp salad, grilled vegetables, a roll and dessert. The chocolate cake was amazing. The UN feeds you well."
Of course, one would not expect a mannequin like Lauren to be up on geopolitical affairs, but, in fact, quite ironically, the UN does not feed anyone well.
Seriously, people, we need to get rid of Kofi Annan as Secreatary General, and appoint a former US President in his place.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Vice President Powell?
Call it a hunch, but when Richard Johnson of the New York Post's Page Six gets a Republican insider to speak on the Administration, one gets the impression, however veiled, that he or she is someone of note saying something noteworthy. That's why when, at the end of their lead story, Colin Stands Tall With Dubya , there was an intimation of something quite mindblowing, our scoop detectors were up:
"The insider also denied the rumor that Powell would be replaced before the fall election. 'Why would the administration get rid of Powell? He is the only person there who has an 80 percent approval rating, and only person giving [Bush] good advice.
"'Right now, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are being blamed for the mess we are in in Iraq, but swing voters love Colin Powell.'
"There is even talk of Powell replacing Cheney as vice president. Not that Cheney, who has a bad heart, would go easily. Cheney, determined to keep fit, even brought an exercycle on his recent trip to Asia.
"'It was this ancient thing, like from the '60s, and he had people lugging it on and off planes wherever he went. It was hilarious.'"
How interesting. The insider, whom I believe is a player in the Administration, is ridiculing Dick Cheney's attempts at projecting manly vitality. Clearly, although Bush has made gains in recent tracking polls, 57 percent believe that the country is "on the wrong track," which is, in no small part, thanks to Cheney. Cheney is increasingly regarded as a liability. And the politically sagacious Dick Morris actually has a negative take in his latest column out today in the Post:
"Both of the polling organizations that track the presidential race in daily surveys have concluded that the contest has settled into a stalemate. Scott Rasmussen reports that for eight of the last nine days, President Bush has gotten 45 to 46 percent of the vote, while Sen. John Kerry ranged from 44 to 46 percent. John Zogby shows Kerry ahead by three and reports little movement either way.
"This 'tie' is terrible news for the Bush camp."
Kerry went out of his way this past Sunday not only to refer to Woodward's book, but to quote Colin Powell, making him an issue in the campaign. The conservative Wall Street Journal goes so far as to say that Powell could ostensibly help Kerry in the election. And so, what better way to neutralize Powell as an issue than to coopt him, to make him a part of the ticket.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Powell has helped defang the devastating 60 Minutes portrait by allying himself squarely with the Bushies, as The Washington Post's Dan Morgan writes:
"Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, responding to a new book about the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq, said yesterday he was closely involved with planning for the attack and had been as 'committed as anyone else' to toppling the government of Saddam Hussein.
"The book, 'Plan of Attack' by Bob Woodward, describes Powell as an opponent of the war strategy pushed by Vice President Cheney, and recounts that the Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, learned of the decision to go to war before Powell. But Powell said he was committed from the start to President Bush's war plan if diplomacy failed and that he was well informed about Bush's strategy.
"'My support was willing and it was complete, no matter how others might try to impose their policy wishes on my body,' Powell said in an interview with the Associated Press."
There are no African Americans in the United States Senate, despite the fact that the Democratic Party continues to garner upwards of 90 percent of the black vote (an astonishing 95 percent in the 2000 election). So far as I know, there is only one low priority Democrat running for the Senate in Illinois. There are no ther plans to recruit another. The Democratic Party (allegedly pro African American) has never nominated an African American on the Presidential ticket. And, of course, Colin Powell has approval ratings above 80 percent. A Powell Vice Presidency could put the African American vote into play for Republicans in a way never before witnessed. And that would be very, very bad for the Democratic Party. Then again, the Democrats have taken the African American vote for granted for so many years.
I have labored under the opinion that Dick Cheney will pull out due to "health problems" in early spring, or as the CIA leak - Valerie Plame hearings get thick -- whichever comes first -- and that the Republican Party will unveil Sir Rudy Giuliani as Dubya's running mate at the New York Convention, maximizing momentum, the big Mo. Bush already has Wyoming and the defense hawk oil magnate vote locked, Dick Cheney is essentially unuseful to the reelection, except, perhaps as an advisor. But Powell is far more formidable with swing voters, while Dubya cements the true believers.
We live in interesting times.
(ed note: because of work i won't be posting tommorrow, but I'll be back on Thursday)
Call it a hunch, but when Richard Johnson of the New York Post's Page Six gets a Republican insider to speak on the Administration, one gets the impression, however veiled, that he or she is someone of note saying something noteworthy. That's why when, at the end of their lead story, Colin Stands Tall With Dubya , there was an intimation of something quite mindblowing, our scoop detectors were up:
"The insider also denied the rumor that Powell would be replaced before the fall election. 'Why would the administration get rid of Powell? He is the only person there who has an 80 percent approval rating, and only person giving [Bush] good advice.
"'Right now, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are being blamed for the mess we are in in Iraq, but swing voters love Colin Powell.'
"There is even talk of Powell replacing Cheney as vice president. Not that Cheney, who has a bad heart, would go easily. Cheney, determined to keep fit, even brought an exercycle on his recent trip to Asia.
"'It was this ancient thing, like from the '60s, and he had people lugging it on and off planes wherever he went. It was hilarious.'"
How interesting. The insider, whom I believe is a player in the Administration, is ridiculing Dick Cheney's attempts at projecting manly vitality. Clearly, although Bush has made gains in recent tracking polls, 57 percent believe that the country is "on the wrong track," which is, in no small part, thanks to Cheney. Cheney is increasingly regarded as a liability. And the politically sagacious Dick Morris actually has a negative take in his latest column out today in the Post:
"Both of the polling organizations that track the presidential race in daily surveys have concluded that the contest has settled into a stalemate. Scott Rasmussen reports that for eight of the last nine days, President Bush has gotten 45 to 46 percent of the vote, while Sen. John Kerry ranged from 44 to 46 percent. John Zogby shows Kerry ahead by three and reports little movement either way.
"This 'tie' is terrible news for the Bush camp."
Kerry went out of his way this past Sunday not only to refer to Woodward's book, but to quote Colin Powell, making him an issue in the campaign. The conservative Wall Street Journal goes so far as to say that Powell could ostensibly help Kerry in the election. And so, what better way to neutralize Powell as an issue than to coopt him, to make him a part of the ticket.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Powell has helped defang the devastating 60 Minutes portrait by allying himself squarely with the Bushies, as The Washington Post's Dan Morgan writes:
"Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, responding to a new book about the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq, said yesterday he was closely involved with planning for the attack and had been as 'committed as anyone else' to toppling the government of Saddam Hussein.
"The book, 'Plan of Attack' by Bob Woodward, describes Powell as an opponent of the war strategy pushed by Vice President Cheney, and recounts that the Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, learned of the decision to go to war before Powell. But Powell said he was committed from the start to President Bush's war plan if diplomacy failed and that he was well informed about Bush's strategy.
"'My support was willing and it was complete, no matter how others might try to impose their policy wishes on my body,' Powell said in an interview with the Associated Press."
There are no African Americans in the United States Senate, despite the fact that the Democratic Party continues to garner upwards of 90 percent of the black vote (an astonishing 95 percent in the 2000 election). So far as I know, there is only one low priority Democrat running for the Senate in Illinois. There are no ther plans to recruit another. The Democratic Party (allegedly pro African American) has never nominated an African American on the Presidential ticket. And, of course, Colin Powell has approval ratings above 80 percent. A Powell Vice Presidency could put the African American vote into play for Republicans in a way never before witnessed. And that would be very, very bad for the Democratic Party. Then again, the Democrats have taken the African American vote for granted for so many years.
I have labored under the opinion that Dick Cheney will pull out due to "health problems" in early spring, or as the CIA leak - Valerie Plame hearings get thick -- whichever comes first -- and that the Republican Party will unveil Sir Rudy Giuliani as Dubya's running mate at the New York Convention, maximizing momentum, the big Mo. Bush already has Wyoming and the defense hawk oil magnate vote locked, Dick Cheney is essentially unuseful to the reelection, except, perhaps as an advisor. But Powell is far more formidable with swing voters, while Dubya cements the true believers.
We live in interesting times.
(ed note: because of work i won't be posting tommorrow, but I'll be back on Thursday)
Doonesbury's DB Will Lose Leg in Iraq
The AP reports:
"A main character in the Doonesbury comic strip will lose a leg while fighting in Iraq, one of two strips published this week that feature soldiers getting injured in the war.
"In Monday's Doonesbury, B.D., a football coach-turned-soldier, was injured after being reactivated in the Army at the end of 2002, following a losing football season.
"Later this week, he will wake up to find his left leg amputated, according to Universal Press Syndicate, the strip's distributor.
"Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau said he wanted to illustrate the sacrifices American soldiers are making.
"'It's a task any writer should approach with great humility, but I think it's worth doing,' Trudeau said. 'We are at war, and we can't lose sight of the hardships war inflicts on individual lives."
"Trudeau said B.D. would learn to deal with his injury 'probably the same way so many wounded vets seem to - with gratitude for having had one's life spared, empathy and respect for those who have suffered worse, and a grim sense of humor indispensable to fending off despair.'"
Hey, Gary (and, while we are on the subject, Aaron McGruder as well). Aren't newspaper strips supposed to be funny?
Other make believe cartoon characters slated for untimely incidents:
Charlie Brown loses his combover after an aggressive chemotherapy treatment for a brain tumor.
Marmaduke will endure stones in his urinary tract.
Garfield will contract feline AIDS
Dilbert gets a painful case of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Andy Capp gets cirrhosis of the liver.
Apartment 3G burns down.
Mary Worth gets diagnosed with diabetes.
Brenda Starr reporter is captured by Al Quaeda.
Dagwood becomes obese.
and, in positive news:
Lil Orphan Annie gets a successful eye transplant.
The AP reports:
"A main character in the Doonesbury comic strip will lose a leg while fighting in Iraq, one of two strips published this week that feature soldiers getting injured in the war.
"In Monday's Doonesbury, B.D., a football coach-turned-soldier, was injured after being reactivated in the Army at the end of 2002, following a losing football season.
"Later this week, he will wake up to find his left leg amputated, according to Universal Press Syndicate, the strip's distributor.
"Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau said he wanted to illustrate the sacrifices American soldiers are making.
"'It's a task any writer should approach with great humility, but I think it's worth doing,' Trudeau said. 'We are at war, and we can't lose sight of the hardships war inflicts on individual lives."
"Trudeau said B.D. would learn to deal with his injury 'probably the same way so many wounded vets seem to - with gratitude for having had one's life spared, empathy and respect for those who have suffered worse, and a grim sense of humor indispensable to fending off despair.'"
Hey, Gary (and, while we are on the subject, Aaron McGruder as well). Aren't newspaper strips supposed to be funny?
Other make believe cartoon characters slated for untimely incidents:
Charlie Brown loses his combover after an aggressive chemotherapy treatment for a brain tumor.
Marmaduke will endure stones in his urinary tract.
Garfield will contract feline AIDS
Dilbert gets a painful case of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Andy Capp gets cirrhosis of the liver.
Apartment 3G burns down.
Mary Worth gets diagnosed with diabetes.
Brenda Starr reporter is captured by Al Quaeda.
Dagwood becomes obese.
and, in positive news:
Lil Orphan Annie gets a successful eye transplant.
Jesus Juice, Naked Mannequins, The Simpsons and Jacko
ABC News is reporting that they have seen Santa Barbara reports that outline the allegations the alleged victim and his brother made to a psychologist:
"The psychologist, Stan Katz, interviewed the alleged victim and his younger brother at the request of the family's lawyer. According to the report, the boy's brother told Katz that not only did Jackson serve the boys alcohol, but on at least two occasions, Jackson's alleged victim passed out, ABCNEWS has learned.
"The report says the alleged victim's younger brother told Katz he saw Jackson touch his brother � a 12-year-old cancer patient � inappropriately when he was passed out.
"Jackson was charged in December with seven counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts upon a child and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to the child.
"The police report states that when the psychologist asked the alleged victim if Jackson engaged in sexual activity in front of him, the alleged victim started crying and wouldn't answer. The boy's younger brother was the only one who described the alleged touching.
"'Because the alleged victim's younger brother was only 9 years old at the time, his age could pose a problem for the prosecution.'"
The story on ABC News continues:
"Katz also told Santa Barbara police that the boys told him, 'Jackson once stood in front of them naked for a moment, as they were watching TV.'
"According to the report, the alleged victim also told Katz that Jackson gave him a laptop computer and surfed the Internet with him for pictures of naked women. And, according to the boy, Jackson said if anyone should ask what they were doing he should say they were watching The Simpsons.
"The younger brother also alleges that Jackson played with a mannequin of an 8- or 9-year-old girl in a sexually suggestive manner in front of the boys."
ABC News is reporting that they have seen Santa Barbara reports that outline the allegations the alleged victim and his brother made to a psychologist:
"The psychologist, Stan Katz, interviewed the alleged victim and his younger brother at the request of the family's lawyer. According to the report, the boy's brother told Katz that not only did Jackson serve the boys alcohol, but on at least two occasions, Jackson's alleged victim passed out, ABCNEWS has learned.
"The report says the alleged victim's younger brother told Katz he saw Jackson touch his brother � a 12-year-old cancer patient � inappropriately when he was passed out.
"Jackson was charged in December with seven counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts upon a child and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to the child.
"The police report states that when the psychologist asked the alleged victim if Jackson engaged in sexual activity in front of him, the alleged victim started crying and wouldn't answer. The boy's younger brother was the only one who described the alleged touching.
"'Because the alleged victim's younger brother was only 9 years old at the time, his age could pose a problem for the prosecution.'"
The story on ABC News continues:
"Katz also told Santa Barbara police that the boys told him, 'Jackson once stood in front of them naked for a moment, as they were watching TV.'
"According to the report, the alleged victim also told Katz that Jackson gave him a laptop computer and surfed the Internet with him for pictures of naked women. And, according to the boy, Jackson said if anyone should ask what they were doing he should say they were watching The Simpsons.
"The younger brother also alleges that Jackson played with a mannequin of an 8- or 9-year-old girl in a sexually suggestive manner in front of the boys."
A Little of the Old In and Out
In: Pink is having a strapping good time in the Old World suing Austria's OVP Conservative Party, I shit you not. According to Tampa radio station 93.3's website:
"Bosses at Pink's record label are suing Austria's conservative party OVP for using the pop punk's name to boost support.
"The political organization infuriated BMG chiefs when they printed the 'Just Like a Pill' star's name on flyers promoting candidate Benita Ferrero-Waldner's election campaign, following her sold-out show in Vienna on April 4.
"According to her label the party broke 'more than one right of the artist. It was a misuse of an artist's name for a political campaign without the written consent of the artist.'
"It's not even clear if the artist approves or even shares the political view of that party."
Don't get the Party started!
Out: Ultraskanky Girls Gone Wild founder Joseph Francis is suing the woman who accused him of rape last month for $25 million, as TheSmokinggun reports. Adding insult to skankery, he is even suing the accuser to get back money for the post coital repast he bought her:
"Claiming that he would not 'sit back and be called a rapist,' Francis filed the below Florida Circuit Court lawsuit against the 21-year-woman and a friend who accompanied her to Francis's Ritz Carlton suite after a night of South Beach partying. Francis, 31, contends that he engaged in consensual sex with the woman--identified as Amy Doe in his complaint -- and even had lunch with the alleged victim and her pal the following day. Along with the $25 million, Francis is also seeking to be reimbursed the $36 he shelled out for the medium rare burgers the women ordered from room service."
And, (altogether now) a skankety skank skank!
In: Heeb Magazine. A very clever "downtown" magazine for people who love Jews. "a Jewish social-entrepreneurship venture fund (Steve Spielberg and Charles Bronfman) support happily gave Heeb $60,000 to get started," writes Jesse Oxfeld of Medibistro.Medibistro interviewed their new editor Josh Neuman:
"Mediabistro: Your background is not as a business guy. You have a master's from the Harvard Divinity School.
"Josh: I think it's impacted my experience. I think there is a line to be drawn. I'm aware this is commerce. I've always loved magazines, but I never mistook my magazine for Hegel or Kierkegaard or Marcus Aurelius. What interests me about magazines is the intersection of ideas and commerce, the way our magazine performs something subversive in the marketplace. Watching people experience Heeb at the newsstand, it's this triangular experience. They look at the image, then they look at the word Heeb, and then there's just this private moment. And that private moment is precious because it's not an, 'Oooh, that's cool,' and it's not an, 'Ugh, that's awful.' It's something like, 'What the hell is that? Could this really be here, could this be happening?' So that's really of interest to me.
"It's not my background. I thought I was going to be a philosophy professor, and I taught for five years at NYU. But marketing is very philosophical to me."
Whatever. I'm a real fan of this this magazine. Especially the pictures of full-figured bohemian Jewish women. Where else can I get my Semitic princess fetish on? I'm old school like that.
Out: Tom Brokaw. The popular if asthmatic sounding Brokaw is handing over the reins of The Wise Man seat to fellow Aryan Brian Williams. Somewhere, Geraldo Rivera is breaking things and bemoaning the fact that people who write memoirs about their sexual escapades with Bette Midler and the wife of a sitting Canadian Prime Minister don't get anchor jobs on network tv. Neither do ethnics, but that's another story.
In: Will Jennifer Garner rule the universe? I tried to warn you people, but now it's too late. I have no longer the energy to fight the inevitable. I have fallen under the spell of The Garner. Resistance was futile. Jennifer Garner is everywhere these days. Her new movie 13 Going on 30 is about to be released. She's got a recruitment page on the CIA website. She's got that cult hit on network tv, Alias. And both The Rock and Billy Bob Thronton have mentioned in interviews how hott they think she is.
Finally, she has geek cred: Garner presented the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Technical Awards. She thinks like a geek but looks like a goddess. She collects old Moon Knight comic books, but looks like she stepped off the runway at lunch. Resistance was futile from the beginning: she had me at "hello." Jenny ... call me?
Is Jennifer Garner destined to take over the universe? VH1's Best Week Ever link.
Out: Bacon fat. Bruce Willis tells that significant cultural artifact Star Magazine a little bit more than we need to know about his artery hardening culinary habits:
"Star: Do you cook? If so, what dish can you whip up?
"Bruce Willis: Sometimes. I make lasagna. I make chicken cacciatore. Actually, my chicken cacciatore would make you cry. It's so good that you'd take your clothes off and stop what you're doing right now. I throw bacon fat in the sauce. It's very good."
(all together now) EEEEEeeeeeeeewwwwww. The Corsair doesn't eat swine. The Corsair abstains to partake of things with snout, much less their excess.
In: Lowculure. Do you remember Communique Magazine from the beloved defunct series Central Park West? If you do, you'll love the fake magazine titles at Lowculture today.
And, Out: Well, out May 5th at the Tribeca Film Festival (yes, guys, it's that time of year again; we heart Jane Rosenthal) is the documentary Point and Shoot. Fashionweekdaily writes:
"'Point and Shoot', Shawn Reguto�s reality-based film about the fashion industry, isn�t your typical high-gloss fashion movie � la Pret � Porter. Premiering May 5th at the Tribeca Film Festival, the film is a gritty, behind-the-scenes expos� on fashion scenesters, warts and all (models have warts?).
"For his first feature-length film, Reguto, 29, took real-life footage he shot over the past two years and edited it into a 90-minute narrative that follows him, his girlfriend Athena, and their crew of hipster friends clubbing, partying and sometimes even working. The Tribeca native began compiling footage in 2002 when he met Athena, a model for Yves Saint Laurent and Levis. The film follows their relationship and the challenges that face them as a couple living in this unstructured atmosphere (ed note to self: buy digital camera, attend fashion show, and hit on gorgeous models by telling them you want to make an 'independent film' about them). 'She loved me filming her,' Reguto said. 'It was a part of our relationship. A lot of photographers have a muse girlfriend and she�s my muse.' But when asked about the current state of their relationship, Reguto was vague (ed note: The Corsair softly chuckles) . Like most reality romances, it seems this one fizzled when the cameras shut off. Fortunately for Reguto, he still has his friends who also appear in the film. Alex Burns, a model/actor who will appear in Zach Braff�s upcoming film 'Garden State', says working with his friend of fifteen years was 'a real pleasure, surprisingly.' The film also includes Betsey Johnson, Carmen Kass, Mini Anden and Patrick McMullan (who�s also listed as an associate producer).
"'Most fashion movies shoot [this world] two dimensionally and there�s this lack of respect for the people in it,' Reguto told The Daily Monday afternoon. 'Just because you�re dealing with a superficial world doesn�t mean the people in it aren�t real and don�t have problems � It�s not exposing anything that people don�t already know or haven�t heard stories about,' he says. 'There is darkness there and I�ve been apart of it, unfortunately.'� (ed note: fashion movies shoot two dimensionality because the industry is two dimensional, frankly, Shawn, and I mean that in the most elegant and glamorous way)
On the glorious two dimensionality of the Fashion Industry, I'll leave you with this quote, also from Fashionweekdaily, in answer to the fundamental ground-of-being philosophical question 'Who is your style icon':
Clio Manuelian, Ferragamo:
�Ghandi � I like his message, he�s man-orexic and we�ve got great kaftans for spring.�
I rest my case.
In: Pink is having a strapping good time in the Old World suing Austria's OVP Conservative Party, I shit you not. According to Tampa radio station 93.3's website:
"Bosses at Pink's record label are suing Austria's conservative party OVP for using the pop punk's name to boost support.
"The political organization infuriated BMG chiefs when they printed the 'Just Like a Pill' star's name on flyers promoting candidate Benita Ferrero-Waldner's election campaign, following her sold-out show in Vienna on April 4.
"According to her label the party broke 'more than one right of the artist. It was a misuse of an artist's name for a political campaign without the written consent of the artist.'
"It's not even clear if the artist approves or even shares the political view of that party."
Don't get the Party started!
Out: Ultraskanky Girls Gone Wild founder Joseph Francis is suing the woman who accused him of rape last month for $25 million, as TheSmokinggun reports. Adding insult to skankery, he is even suing the accuser to get back money for the post coital repast he bought her:
"Claiming that he would not 'sit back and be called a rapist,' Francis filed the below Florida Circuit Court lawsuit against the 21-year-woman and a friend who accompanied her to Francis's Ritz Carlton suite after a night of South Beach partying. Francis, 31, contends that he engaged in consensual sex with the woman--identified as Amy Doe in his complaint -- and even had lunch with the alleged victim and her pal the following day. Along with the $25 million, Francis is also seeking to be reimbursed the $36 he shelled out for the medium rare burgers the women ordered from room service."
And, (altogether now) a skankety skank skank!
In: Heeb Magazine. A very clever "downtown" magazine for people who love Jews. "a Jewish social-entrepreneurship venture fund (Steve Spielberg and Charles Bronfman) support happily gave Heeb $60,000 to get started," writes Jesse Oxfeld of Medibistro.Medibistro interviewed their new editor Josh Neuman:
"Mediabistro: Your background is not as a business guy. You have a master's from the Harvard Divinity School.
"Josh: I think it's impacted my experience. I think there is a line to be drawn. I'm aware this is commerce. I've always loved magazines, but I never mistook my magazine for Hegel or Kierkegaard or Marcus Aurelius. What interests me about magazines is the intersection of ideas and commerce, the way our magazine performs something subversive in the marketplace. Watching people experience Heeb at the newsstand, it's this triangular experience. They look at the image, then they look at the word Heeb, and then there's just this private moment. And that private moment is precious because it's not an, 'Oooh, that's cool,' and it's not an, 'Ugh, that's awful.' It's something like, 'What the hell is that? Could this really be here, could this be happening?' So that's really of interest to me.
"It's not my background. I thought I was going to be a philosophy professor, and I taught for five years at NYU. But marketing is very philosophical to me."
Whatever. I'm a real fan of this this magazine. Especially the pictures of full-figured bohemian Jewish women. Where else can I get my Semitic princess fetish on? I'm old school like that.
Out: Tom Brokaw. The popular if asthmatic sounding Brokaw is handing over the reins of The Wise Man seat to fellow Aryan Brian Williams. Somewhere, Geraldo Rivera is breaking things and bemoaning the fact that people who write memoirs about their sexual escapades with Bette Midler and the wife of a sitting Canadian Prime Minister don't get anchor jobs on network tv. Neither do ethnics, but that's another story.
In: Will Jennifer Garner rule the universe? I tried to warn you people, but now it's too late. I have no longer the energy to fight the inevitable. I have fallen under the spell of The Garner. Resistance was futile. Jennifer Garner is everywhere these days. Her new movie 13 Going on 30 is about to be released. She's got a recruitment page on the CIA website. She's got that cult hit on network tv, Alias. And both The Rock and Billy Bob Thronton have mentioned in interviews how hott they think she is.
Finally, she has geek cred: Garner presented the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Technical Awards. She thinks like a geek but looks like a goddess. She collects old Moon Knight comic books, but looks like she stepped off the runway at lunch. Resistance was futile from the beginning: she had me at "hello." Jenny ... call me?
Is Jennifer Garner destined to take over the universe? VH1's Best Week Ever link.
Out: Bacon fat. Bruce Willis tells that significant cultural artifact Star Magazine a little bit more than we need to know about his artery hardening culinary habits:
"Star: Do you cook? If so, what dish can you whip up?
"Bruce Willis: Sometimes. I make lasagna. I make chicken cacciatore. Actually, my chicken cacciatore would make you cry. It's so good that you'd take your clothes off and stop what you're doing right now. I throw bacon fat in the sauce. It's very good."
(all together now) EEEEEeeeeeeeewwwwww. The Corsair doesn't eat swine. The Corsair abstains to partake of things with snout, much less their excess.
In: Lowculure. Do you remember Communique Magazine from the beloved defunct series Central Park West? If you do, you'll love the fake magazine titles at Lowculture today.
And, Out: Well, out May 5th at the Tribeca Film Festival (yes, guys, it's that time of year again; we heart Jane Rosenthal) is the documentary Point and Shoot. Fashionweekdaily writes:
"'Point and Shoot', Shawn Reguto�s reality-based film about the fashion industry, isn�t your typical high-gloss fashion movie � la Pret � Porter. Premiering May 5th at the Tribeca Film Festival, the film is a gritty, behind-the-scenes expos� on fashion scenesters, warts and all (models have warts?).
"For his first feature-length film, Reguto, 29, took real-life footage he shot over the past two years and edited it into a 90-minute narrative that follows him, his girlfriend Athena, and their crew of hipster friends clubbing, partying and sometimes even working. The Tribeca native began compiling footage in 2002 when he met Athena, a model for Yves Saint Laurent and Levis. The film follows their relationship and the challenges that face them as a couple living in this unstructured atmosphere (ed note to self: buy digital camera, attend fashion show, and hit on gorgeous models by telling them you want to make an 'independent film' about them). 'She loved me filming her,' Reguto said. 'It was a part of our relationship. A lot of photographers have a muse girlfriend and she�s my muse.' But when asked about the current state of their relationship, Reguto was vague (ed note: The Corsair softly chuckles) . Like most reality romances, it seems this one fizzled when the cameras shut off. Fortunately for Reguto, he still has his friends who also appear in the film. Alex Burns, a model/actor who will appear in Zach Braff�s upcoming film 'Garden State', says working with his friend of fifteen years was 'a real pleasure, surprisingly.' The film also includes Betsey Johnson, Carmen Kass, Mini Anden and Patrick McMullan (who�s also listed as an associate producer).
"'Most fashion movies shoot [this world] two dimensionally and there�s this lack of respect for the people in it,' Reguto told The Daily Monday afternoon. 'Just because you�re dealing with a superficial world doesn�t mean the people in it aren�t real and don�t have problems � It�s not exposing anything that people don�t already know or haven�t heard stories about,' he says. 'There is darkness there and I�ve been apart of it, unfortunately.'� (ed note: fashion movies shoot two dimensionality because the industry is two dimensional, frankly, Shawn, and I mean that in the most elegant and glamorous way)
On the glorious two dimensionality of the Fashion Industry, I'll leave you with this quote, also from Fashionweekdaily, in answer to the fundamental ground-of-being philosophical question 'Who is your style icon':
Clio Manuelian, Ferragamo:
�Ghandi � I like his message, he�s man-orexic and we�ve got great kaftans for spring.�
I rest my case.
Vivika Still Misses Fitty
Ananova reports on Vivika Fox:
"Fox, 39, told German magazine Maxim she still had a soft spot in her heart for her ex.
"'He still means a lot to me and I miss him very much,' she said.
"'He talked a lot about me and said a few unkind things about me,' said Vivica. 'But that's okay.'
"When asked whether she liked 50 Cent's music, she replied: 'Oh yes. It's great. Really hot. Hey, he's the one who ended the relationship.'
"The actress is a lot less forgiving, however, when it comes to personal security, and says she's prepared to use her gun on anyone who tries to get on her property.
"'I've got a 38 revolver for security. I'll blow the arse off anyone who tries to enter my house,' she said."
Wunderbar. But somehow Vivika doesn't seem like the type of crazy armed chick who uses the word "arse." It's just not gangsta.
She's like the wind.
Ananova reports on Vivika Fox:
"Fox, 39, told German magazine Maxim she still had a soft spot in her heart for her ex.
"'He still means a lot to me and I miss him very much,' she said.
"'He talked a lot about me and said a few unkind things about me,' said Vivica. 'But that's okay.'
"When asked whether she liked 50 Cent's music, she replied: 'Oh yes. It's great. Really hot. Hey, he's the one who ended the relationship.'
"The actress is a lot less forgiving, however, when it comes to personal security, and says she's prepared to use her gun on anyone who tries to get on her property.
"'I've got a 38 revolver for security. I'll blow the arse off anyone who tries to enter my house,' she said."
Wunderbar. But somehow Vivika doesn't seem like the type of crazy armed chick who uses the word "arse." It's just not gangsta.
She's like the wind.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Condoleeza Rice's Freudian Slip
According to New York Metro, the usually tight-lipped National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, let out something of a rather embarassing Freudian slip:
"A pressing issue of dinner-party etiquette is vexing Washington, according to a story now making the D.C. rounds: How should you react when your guest, in this case national-security adviser Condoleezza Rice, makes a poignant faux pas? At a recent dinner party hosted by New York Times D.C. bureau chief Philip Taubman and his wife, Times reporter Felicity Barringer, and attended by Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Maureen Dowd, Steven Weisman, and Elisabeth Bumiller, Rice was reportedly overheard saying, 'As I was telling my husb?' and then stopping herself abruptly, before saying, 'As I was telling President Bush.' Jaws dropped, but a guest says the slip by the unmarried politician, who spends weekends with the president and his wife, seemed more psychologically telling than incriminating. Nobody thinks Bush and Rice are actually an item. A National Security Council spokesman laughed and said, 'No comment.'"
As something of a creature of etiquitte myself, here are my suggestions to proper Washingtonians on how to handle another inevitable "Condi Slip":
Should the future MPAA Prexy refer to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as "my Wild Scallion," kindly inform anyone within hearing range, that yes, indeed, scallion dip would go well with the crudites.
Should the National Security Advisor refer to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as "my jump off," simply chuckle softly, as if a funny were made, then, lightly, change the conversation.
Should Condoleeza refer to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist as, "Dr. Love ..", steer the conversation over to the recent health care bill. If she refers to him as "my Tennessee Stud," run don't walk from the vicinity.
Should Condi refer to Attorney General John Ashcroft as, "my boo," briskly grab an appetizer, take a bite and remark to all those in the periphery, "Yes, Condi, they are good."
Should the National Security Advisor make any manner of "Condi Slip" regarding the name "DeLay," make way, post haste. There are some linguistic excesses that modern etiquitte are powerless to gloss over.
According to New York Metro, the usually tight-lipped National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, let out something of a rather embarassing Freudian slip:
"A pressing issue of dinner-party etiquette is vexing Washington, according to a story now making the D.C. rounds: How should you react when your guest, in this case national-security adviser Condoleezza Rice, makes a poignant faux pas? At a recent dinner party hosted by New York Times D.C. bureau chief Philip Taubman and his wife, Times reporter Felicity Barringer, and attended by Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Maureen Dowd, Steven Weisman, and Elisabeth Bumiller, Rice was reportedly overheard saying, 'As I was telling my husb?' and then stopping herself abruptly, before saying, 'As I was telling President Bush.' Jaws dropped, but a guest says the slip by the unmarried politician, who spends weekends with the president and his wife, seemed more psychologically telling than incriminating. Nobody thinks Bush and Rice are actually an item. A National Security Council spokesman laughed and said, 'No comment.'"
As something of a creature of etiquitte myself, here are my suggestions to proper Washingtonians on how to handle another inevitable "Condi Slip":
Should the future MPAA Prexy refer to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as "my Wild Scallion," kindly inform anyone within hearing range, that yes, indeed, scallion dip would go well with the crudites.
Should the National Security Advisor refer to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as "my jump off," simply chuckle softly, as if a funny were made, then, lightly, change the conversation.
Should Condoleeza refer to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist as, "Dr. Love ..", steer the conversation over to the recent health care bill. If she refers to him as "my Tennessee Stud," run don't walk from the vicinity.
Should Condi refer to Attorney General John Ashcroft as, "my boo," briskly grab an appetizer, take a bite and remark to all those in the periphery, "Yes, Condi, they are good."
Should the National Security Advisor make any manner of "Condi Slip" regarding the name "DeLay," make way, post haste. There are some linguistic excesses that modern etiquitte are powerless to gloss over.
Keifer Sutherland "Heartbreaking" Drunk?
That significant cultural artifact The National Enquirer reports that the man who would be Mr. Julia Roberts -- but wasn't (a stripper named Raven in Vancouver, don't ask)-- Kiefer Sutherland spends lots of time knocking down scotch. At all hours. Not 24 Hours, but:
"'Kiefer's been a big drinker but now he's pounding down the alcohol morning, noon and night,' an insider (told The Enquirer)"
"Kiefer Sutherland, star of TV's 24 ... was caught knocking back Scotch at a Hollywood gay bar at 9 o'clock in the morning!
"And another source said: "Kiefer is well-known at dives in the scary Hollywood area where he lives.
"It's not unusual to see him downing glass after glass of J&B Scotch at one of these places any night of the week.
"And when they close at 2 a.m., then it's on to the after hours clubs."
"The ENQUIRER reported in March that the 37-year-old star got a gash on his head in a bar fight.
"And now The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that on the morning of April 3, Kiefer was drinking at the Spot Light."
The Corsair cannot fail to note that LA.com describes The Spotlight thusly,:
"If you ever wondered where all the freaky trannies went during Hollywood's gentrification, this is the answer.
"The Spotlight is a dive and proud of it. This is where the flavorful underbelly of Hollywood gay life washes up. It's clear that most of the patrons have 'history'--we don;t ask and don't tell--but who knew the place had history, too? It's the city's second oldest gay bar (the oldest is the Friendship in Santa Monica), open since 1963."
It should be noted that it opens really, really early, which may or may not be factored into your conclusions. Do you suppose a silent-but deadly Keifer Sutherland scotch-fart could clear a room?
The Enquirer continues:
"'Kiefer was falling-down drunk,' said an eyewitness.
"He wasn't surly or anything -- just the opposite, he seemed very happy and was obviously feeling no pain.
"There was a movie shooting across the street when Kiefer came out of the Spot Light for a cigarette. Several of the crew members on the shoot recognized him and came over to have their photos taken with him.
"He was very obliging to everyone, including the female security guard on the movie and one young mom who came over with her toddler in a stroller to get his autograph.
"But Kiefer reeked of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet.
"Finally he excused himself, saying he had to go back into the bar to sit down. 'It was so sad seeing him that way.'
And it goes on:
"A staffer at the Spot Light who was on duty that morning told The ENQUIRER: 'Kiefer started drinking at 9 o'clock in the morning with some buddies and didn't stop till after 1:30 p.m.
"'At one point, he was so hammered that he fell off his barstool and landed on the floor. But he just laughed it off.
"'He was drinking Scotch and his associates actually had to prop him up!
"'Some girl pulled down her pants and showed her butt to him and he said in slurring speech, I'll show you something.
Italics mine:
"'Then he pulled down his pants and exposed his butt to her and everyone else in the bar!'
"The eyewitness added: 'When Kiefer stumbled out of the bar, there were a bunch of cops hanging around the film shoot across the street. He laughed and said, Don't mind me, officers -- and just staggered away.
"'It was funny and heartbreaking at the same time.'"
The story is reported by Michael Glynn and Rick Egusquiza of National Enquirer. Get it wireless here.
For fresh, brand new blog posts from The Corsair daily (September 24, 2008 and on) click here.
That significant cultural artifact The National Enquirer reports that the man who would be Mr. Julia Roberts -- but wasn't (a stripper named Raven in Vancouver, don't ask)-- Kiefer Sutherland spends lots of time knocking down scotch. At all hours. Not 24 Hours, but:
"'Kiefer's been a big drinker but now he's pounding down the alcohol morning, noon and night,' an insider (told The Enquirer)"
"Kiefer Sutherland, star of TV's 24 ... was caught knocking back Scotch at a Hollywood gay bar at 9 o'clock in the morning!
"And another source said: "Kiefer is well-known at dives in the scary Hollywood area where he lives.
"It's not unusual to see him downing glass after glass of J&B Scotch at one of these places any night of the week.
"And when they close at 2 a.m., then it's on to the after hours clubs."
"The ENQUIRER reported in March that the 37-year-old star got a gash on his head in a bar fight.
"And now The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that on the morning of April 3, Kiefer was drinking at the Spot Light."
The Corsair cannot fail to note that LA.com describes The Spotlight thusly,:
"If you ever wondered where all the freaky trannies went during Hollywood's gentrification, this is the answer.
"The Spotlight is a dive and proud of it. This is where the flavorful underbelly of Hollywood gay life washes up. It's clear that most of the patrons have 'history'--we don;t ask and don't tell--but who knew the place had history, too? It's the city's second oldest gay bar (the oldest is the Friendship in Santa Monica), open since 1963."
It should be noted that it opens really, really early, which may or may not be factored into your conclusions. Do you suppose a silent-but deadly Keifer Sutherland scotch-fart could clear a room?
The Enquirer continues:
"'Kiefer was falling-down drunk,' said an eyewitness.
"He wasn't surly or anything -- just the opposite, he seemed very happy and was obviously feeling no pain.
"There was a movie shooting across the street when Kiefer came out of the Spot Light for a cigarette. Several of the crew members on the shoot recognized him and came over to have their photos taken with him.
"He was very obliging to everyone, including the female security guard on the movie and one young mom who came over with her toddler in a stroller to get his autograph.
"But Kiefer reeked of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet.
"Finally he excused himself, saying he had to go back into the bar to sit down. 'It was so sad seeing him that way.'
And it goes on:
"A staffer at the Spot Light who was on duty that morning told The ENQUIRER: 'Kiefer started drinking at 9 o'clock in the morning with some buddies and didn't stop till after 1:30 p.m.
"'At one point, he was so hammered that he fell off his barstool and landed on the floor. But he just laughed it off.
"'He was drinking Scotch and his associates actually had to prop him up!
"'Some girl pulled down her pants and showed her butt to him and he said in slurring speech, I'll show you something.
Italics mine:
"'Then he pulled down his pants and exposed his butt to her and everyone else in the bar!'
"The eyewitness added: 'When Kiefer stumbled out of the bar, there were a bunch of cops hanging around the film shoot across the street. He laughed and said, Don't mind me, officers -- and just staggered away.
"'It was funny and heartbreaking at the same time.'"
The story is reported by Michael Glynn and Rick Egusquiza of National Enquirer. Get it wireless here.
For fresh, brand new blog posts from The Corsair daily (September 24, 2008 and on) click here.
Eminem is not a Stud
Eminem is bad in bed, according to a report on Ananova, via the Daily Mirror:
"Kesia Alvarez says she taught him a lot and added he was almost like a 'little virgin boy' when they got together.
"She said: 'I was surprised. He raps about having this bitch and screwing that one, but he didn't know how to excite a woman.
"'He was like a little virgin boy when I met him and he was 26 at the time. A lot of the stuff he raps about is bull****.'
"The pair met when he was signing autographs in Miami Beach, Florida, in March 1999. Alvarez said she didn't know his music at the time, but she asked him for his autograph anyway, says the Daily Mirror."
The story goes on to say that the 30 year old Brazillian, who "dated" Eminem for 16 months was introduced by Eminem to rapper Dr. Dre as his "wife."
" '... He has a very tiny thing, nothing to tell your girlfriends about, and when we were together he sometimes suffered from premature ejaculation,' said Alvarez.
"... She said in July 2000 she had a pregnancy scare and Eminem had refused to discuss it. 'We had a row and that was the last time I saw him. Luckily my pregnancy was a false alarm.'"
Eminem is bad in bed, according to a report on Ananova, via the Daily Mirror:
"Kesia Alvarez says she taught him a lot and added he was almost like a 'little virgin boy' when they got together.
"She said: 'I was surprised. He raps about having this bitch and screwing that one, but he didn't know how to excite a woman.
"'He was like a little virgin boy when I met him and he was 26 at the time. A lot of the stuff he raps about is bull****.'
"The pair met when he was signing autographs in Miami Beach, Florida, in March 1999. Alvarez said she didn't know his music at the time, but she asked him for his autograph anyway, says the Daily Mirror."
The story goes on to say that the 30 year old Brazillian, who "dated" Eminem for 16 months was introduced by Eminem to rapper Dr. Dre as his "wife."
" '... He has a very tiny thing, nothing to tell your girlfriends about, and when we were together he sometimes suffered from premature ejaculation,' said Alvarez.
"... She said in July 2000 she had a pregnancy scare and Eminem had refused to discuss it. 'We had a row and that was the last time I saw him. Luckily my pregnancy was a false alarm.'"
A Little of The Old In and Out
In: Wonkette. The Corsair loves it any time a blogger gets into the Old Gray Lady's prim and proper pages, so let's share the love. Julie Bosman writes:
"At times, Wonkette reads like Gawker featuring George Stephanopoulos instead of Anna Wintour. Ms. Cox borrows heavily from the features that made Gawker popular (Gawker Stalker, the celebrity sightings roundup, became Wonk'd on Wonkette.) She subscribes to a decidedly Gawkeresque philosophy: try to be accurate, but more importantly, be funny." And funny she is. Congrats, Wonkette.
Out: McDonalds. Shares are down as of blog time 2.77% at the news of the death of the CEO at the tender age of 60 from a heart attack. All he wanted was Chicken McNuggets (link not safe for work!)!
I'm trying to fit in a Morgan Spurlock joke here, something about 30 Days and liver damage and karmic repercussions, but it would be tasteless. Like the Big Mac.
Out: Kimora Liar Simmons. Okay, let's get beyond the turkey neck. Let's glide over the offensive millionaire materialism (The Corsair --sniff,sniff--is a thousandaire). The Page Sixers have got her goose! Kimora, apparently, told WWD that she won an auction at the Martha Graham Dance Company gala. She didn't:
"DESPITE what she told Women's Wear Daily, Kimora Lee Simmons was not the winning bidder at a hot auction at the Martha Graham Dance Company gala the other night. The diva-licious designer of Baby Phat told the trade paper that she bid $16,000 to have Manolo Blahnik name a shoe after her in his next collection. But Manhattan podiatric surgeon Dr. Suzanne Levine says she snared the honor after shelling out $20,000. Dr. Levine quipped: 'If Kimora wants the auction prize that badly, I will sell it to her for $30,000 and donate my profit to the Martha Graham Dance Company.'"
Kimora wanted it bad. Really bad. According to this blog, which references the WWD article, "(Kimora) wanted it so much that she asked the manager to keep the bidding sheet from her competitors in the final moments of the auction."
Oh, Kimora.
In: On Chris Matthews on Sunday, pony-boy wanna be Secretary of State Fareed Zakaria predicted in the "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" segment that Ibrahim al-Jaffari will be the US installed Prime minister of Iraq. Globalsecurity.org describes him thusly, "Ibrahim al Jafari, spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party, which was persecuted by Saddam. Born in Karbala, educated in medicine in Mosul. Spent time in the United States and the United Kingdom. Shiite." We'll see how clear Zakaria's crystal ball is.
Out: Geronimo's Bones. If, indeed, the rumors are correct, and Prescott Bush dug up Apache chief Geronimo's bones at Yale, this has got to be braught up in the debate.
In: Kofi Annan's "saintly aura." Despite the fact that he is, indeed a fuzzy headed irrelevant factor in world politics, twice in about as many days has Kofi Annan's "saintly aura" been invoked. First by David Patrick Columbia, who wrote, saw Kofi Annan on Wednesday night at the Waldorf at the Citizens for NYC annual gala. Frances Fitzgerald, the distinguished author and daughter of the late Marietta Tree, presented Mrs. Nane (pronounced Nan) Annan with the Marietta Tree Award for Public Service. There were several other awards given out, but more about that on another day.
"Mrs. Annan, who is one of the most beautiful women in New York, like her husband, has a kind of saintliness about her."
And then, on Topic A With Tina Brown, Johns Hopkins Professor Fouad Ajami, spoke of Anan's "saintly aura."
Not a vital, world-historical Joan of Arc aura, surely.
Out: Chris Rock's HBO comedy special. Am I the only one who thought that the last 45 minutes of marriage jokes were way too bitter and misogynistic? I am ... oh, whatever.
In: Yoganistas. Today, Fashionweekdaily gives us a new word:
"Yoganista (/YO-gah-NISTA/)
"NY may have its fashionistas (far too many of them, really) but LA has its very own "ista's": the Yoganista. Yoga teacher/writer and all-around groovy chick Anna Getty coined the new term to describe 'former fashion-obsessed LA girls who are into yoga now - but still wear cute outfits to yoga class.' For daywear, these girls are more likely to go for Joie, C& C, and Nuala over McQueen or Chanel, but they take their yoga outfits seriously?it must look edgy, layered, soft, and of course, flattering. With Madonna as the yoganista fashion icon, how could they not? Look for Anna Getty's new column in Fit Yoga magazine in August."
VH1's Best Week Ever
Out: Dubya is appointing UN Ambassador Negroponte to become the US Ambassador to Iraq. The BBC's Katty Kay refers to the gigantic embassy being built in Baghdad as a hymn to our empire (cue to Star Wars imperial march)
In: Wonkette. The Corsair loves it any time a blogger gets into the Old Gray Lady's prim and proper pages, so let's share the love. Julie Bosman writes:
"At times, Wonkette reads like Gawker featuring George Stephanopoulos instead of Anna Wintour. Ms. Cox borrows heavily from the features that made Gawker popular (Gawker Stalker, the celebrity sightings roundup, became Wonk'd on Wonkette.) She subscribes to a decidedly Gawkeresque philosophy: try to be accurate, but more importantly, be funny." And funny she is. Congrats, Wonkette.
Out: McDonalds. Shares are down as of blog time 2.77% at the news of the death of the CEO at the tender age of 60 from a heart attack. All he wanted was Chicken McNuggets (link not safe for work!)!
I'm trying to fit in a Morgan Spurlock joke here, something about 30 Days and liver damage and karmic repercussions, but it would be tasteless. Like the Big Mac.
Out: Kimora Liar Simmons. Okay, let's get beyond the turkey neck. Let's glide over the offensive millionaire materialism (The Corsair --sniff,sniff--is a thousandaire). The Page Sixers have got her goose! Kimora, apparently, told WWD that she won an auction at the Martha Graham Dance Company gala. She didn't:
"DESPITE what she told Women's Wear Daily, Kimora Lee Simmons was not the winning bidder at a hot auction at the Martha Graham Dance Company gala the other night. The diva-licious designer of Baby Phat told the trade paper that she bid $16,000 to have Manolo Blahnik name a shoe after her in his next collection. But Manhattan podiatric surgeon Dr. Suzanne Levine says she snared the honor after shelling out $20,000. Dr. Levine quipped: 'If Kimora wants the auction prize that badly, I will sell it to her for $30,000 and donate my profit to the Martha Graham Dance Company.'"
Kimora wanted it bad. Really bad. According to this blog, which references the WWD article, "(Kimora) wanted it so much that she asked the manager to keep the bidding sheet from her competitors in the final moments of the auction."
Oh, Kimora.
In: On Chris Matthews on Sunday, pony-boy wanna be Secretary of State Fareed Zakaria predicted in the "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" segment that Ibrahim al-Jaffari will be the US installed Prime minister of Iraq. Globalsecurity.org describes him thusly, "Ibrahim al Jafari, spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party, which was persecuted by Saddam. Born in Karbala, educated in medicine in Mosul. Spent time in the United States and the United Kingdom. Shiite." We'll see how clear Zakaria's crystal ball is.
Out: Geronimo's Bones. If, indeed, the rumors are correct, and Prescott Bush dug up Apache chief Geronimo's bones at Yale, this has got to be braught up in the debate.
In: Kofi Annan's "saintly aura." Despite the fact that he is, indeed a fuzzy headed irrelevant factor in world politics, twice in about as many days has Kofi Annan's "saintly aura" been invoked. First by David Patrick Columbia, who wrote, saw Kofi Annan on Wednesday night at the Waldorf at the Citizens for NYC annual gala. Frances Fitzgerald, the distinguished author and daughter of the late Marietta Tree, presented Mrs. Nane (pronounced Nan) Annan with the Marietta Tree Award for Public Service. There were several other awards given out, but more about that on another day.
"Mrs. Annan, who is one of the most beautiful women in New York, like her husband, has a kind of saintliness about her."
And then, on Topic A With Tina Brown, Johns Hopkins Professor Fouad Ajami, spoke of Anan's "saintly aura."
Not a vital, world-historical Joan of Arc aura, surely.
Out: Chris Rock's HBO comedy special. Am I the only one who thought that the last 45 minutes of marriage jokes were way too bitter and misogynistic? I am ... oh, whatever.
In: Yoganistas. Today, Fashionweekdaily gives us a new word:
"Yoganista (/YO-gah-NISTA/)
"NY may have its fashionistas (far too many of them, really) but LA has its very own "ista's": the Yoganista. Yoga teacher/writer and all-around groovy chick Anna Getty coined the new term to describe 'former fashion-obsessed LA girls who are into yoga now - but still wear cute outfits to yoga class.' For daywear, these girls are more likely to go for Joie, C& C, and Nuala over McQueen or Chanel, but they take their yoga outfits seriously?it must look edgy, layered, soft, and of course, flattering. With Madonna as the yoganista fashion icon, how could they not? Look for Anna Getty's new column in Fit Yoga magazine in August."
VH1's Best Week Ever
Out: Dubya is appointing UN Ambassador Negroponte to become the US Ambassador to Iraq. The BBC's Katty Kay refers to the gigantic embassy being built in Baghdad as a hymn to our empire (cue to Star Wars imperial march)
Saturday, April 17, 2004
60 Minutes: Bob Woodward
The leaks over this appearance are mighty. The fucking Tehran Times is reporting on this book already, spinning it's own nasty tyrannical spin on it! On the CBS web site, some funamental questions are asked, but the leaks have all but answered them, making 60 Minutes, a little less than must-see television. Still, Woodward, who once dated Leslie Stahl will be interesting. Wallace will do the interview, saving Stahl from a major conflict of interest.
Here's what CBS says on their 60 Minutes Page:
"(Bob) Woodward will answer the following questions, among others, in the interview with Wallace Sunday night:
"-How early did President Bush begin planning the war on Iraq?
-In the war?s wake, which top administration officials now barely speak to each other?
-What did the CIA say to President Bush to convince him that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction?
-Which foreign dignitary was told of the plans to attack Iraq days before even key cabinet members were briefed?
-Which key advisers did President Bush ask ? and not ask ? about whether he should go to war with Iraq?
-Why did the CIA think Saddam had been killed before the ground war even began?"
And here are some answers, via leaks:
How early did President Bush begin planning the war on Iraq?
According to Foxnews, "President Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan and was so worried the decision would cause a furor he did not tell everyone on his national security team, says a new book on his Iraq policy."
In the war's wake, which top administration officials now barely speak to each other?
According to Reuters,"Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell are so upset with one another over the Iraq war that they are barely on speaking terms, according to excerpts from a new book published in the Washington Post on Saturday. The book, entitled 'Plan of Attack,' is not due to be released until next week but the Post's assistant managing editor, Robert Woodward, wrote it and the newspaper is reporting from it."
Which foreign dignitary was told of the plans to attack Iraq days before even key cabinet members were briefed?
(ed note 4/19: Originally, I wrote that this was Tony Blair. Of course, now we know it was Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia.)
Which key advisers did President Bush ask -- and not ask -- about whether he should go to war with Iraq?
According to the NY Times, "The exact timing of Mr. Bush's request to Mr. Rumsfeld to begin war planning had not been publicly known, and it had not been known that, as the book reports, Mr. Bush kept that request secret from other top advisers, including Mr. Powell, Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, and George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence."
Why did the CIA think Saddam had been killed before the ground war even began?
The New York Times reports: "The book also provides new details about the hurriedly arranged airstrike on March 19, 2003, in which the White House jump-started the war with a bomb and missile strike on the Dora Farms compound near Baghdad in a failed attempt to kill Saddam.
"The air raid, advocated by Tenet, had initially been opposed by Franks, the book says, but was approved by Bush and Cheney after they asked other advisers to leave the Oval Office.
"The strike was launched, the book says, on the basis of first-hand reports from Iraqi sources at Dora Farms enlisted by a network of 87 Iraqi spies, designated with the cryptonym DB/ROCKSTARS, who had been recruited by a CIA team that had infiltrated northern Iraq in the months before the war.
"In calls by satellite phone to the CIA team, the Iraqi sources reported that Saddam's sons Odai and Qusai were at the compound, and that Saddam himself would return there. After the strike, the book says, one Iraqi source reported that Saddam's body had been removed from the wreckage, prompting Tenet to celebrate what he thought had been a success.
"Even now, it is still not clear whether Saddam was at the site at all, though a CIA official said Friday that the agency maintains that Saddam was "probably" there and survived the U.S. raid. Woodward's book reports that the Iraqi security guard who was the main source of the intelligence was killed in the U.S. attack, but a CIA official said the Iraqi agents recruited by the agency had proved 'extraordinarily productive.'"
And, the Washington Post gives this excerpt:
"(Hans) Blix had told Rice, 'I have never complained about your military pressure. I think it's a good thing.' She relayed this to the president.
"'How long does he think I can do this?' Bush asked. 'A year? I can't. The United States can't stay in this position while Saddam plays games with the inspectors.'
"'You have to follow through on your threat,' Rice said. 'If you're going to carry out coercive diplomacy, you have to live with that decision.'
"'He's getting more confident, not less,' Bush said of Hussein. 'He can manipulate the international system again. We're not winning.
"'Time is not on our side here,' Bush told Rice. 'Probably going to have to, we're going to have to go to war.'
"In Rice's mind, this was the moment the president decided the United States would go to war with Iraq. Military planning had been underway for more than a year even as Bush sought a diplomatic solution through the United Nations. He would continue those efforts, at least publicly, for 10 more weeks, but he had reached a point of no return.
"The president also informed Karl Rove, his chief political strategist, of his decision over the holidays. Rove had gone to Crawford to brief Bush on the confidential plan for Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. While Laura Bush sat reading a book, Rove gave a PowerPoint presentation on the campaign's strategy, themes and timetable.
"Opening his laptop, he displayed for Bush in bold letters on a dark blue background:
"PERSONA:
"Strong Leader
"Bold Action
Big Ideas
"Peace in World
"More Compassionate America
"Cares About People Like Me
"Leads a Strong Team
"All things being equal, the president asked, when would you like to begin the campaign and active fundraising?
"Rove said he wanted the president to start that February or March and begin raising the money, probably $200 million. He had a schedule. In February, March and April 2003, there would be between 12 and 16 fundraisers.
"'We got a war coming,' the president told Rove flatly, 'and you're just going to have to wait.' He had decided. 'The moment is coming.' The president did not give a date, but he left the impression with Rove that it would be January or February or March at the latest.
"'Remember the problem with your dad's campaign,' Rove replied. 'A lot of people said he got started too late.'
"'I understand,' Bush said. 'I'll tell you when I'm comfortable with you starting.'"
The leaks over this appearance are mighty. The fucking Tehran Times is reporting on this book already, spinning it's own nasty tyrannical spin on it! On the CBS web site, some funamental questions are asked, but the leaks have all but answered them, making 60 Minutes, a little less than must-see television. Still, Woodward, who once dated Leslie Stahl will be interesting. Wallace will do the interview, saving Stahl from a major conflict of interest.
Here's what CBS says on their 60 Minutes Page:
"(Bob) Woodward will answer the following questions, among others, in the interview with Wallace Sunday night:
"-How early did President Bush begin planning the war on Iraq?
-In the war?s wake, which top administration officials now barely speak to each other?
-What did the CIA say to President Bush to convince him that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction?
-Which foreign dignitary was told of the plans to attack Iraq days before even key cabinet members were briefed?
-Which key advisers did President Bush ask ? and not ask ? about whether he should go to war with Iraq?
-Why did the CIA think Saddam had been killed before the ground war even began?"
And here are some answers, via leaks:
How early did President Bush begin planning the war on Iraq?
According to Foxnews, "President Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan and was so worried the decision would cause a furor he did not tell everyone on his national security team, says a new book on his Iraq policy."
In the war's wake, which top administration officials now barely speak to each other?
According to Reuters,"Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell are so upset with one another over the Iraq war that they are barely on speaking terms, according to excerpts from a new book published in the Washington Post on Saturday. The book, entitled 'Plan of Attack,' is not due to be released until next week but the Post's assistant managing editor, Robert Woodward, wrote it and the newspaper is reporting from it."
Which foreign dignitary was told of the plans to attack Iraq days before even key cabinet members were briefed?
(ed note 4/19: Originally, I wrote that this was Tony Blair. Of course, now we know it was Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia.)
Which key advisers did President Bush ask -- and not ask -- about whether he should go to war with Iraq?
According to the NY Times, "The exact timing of Mr. Bush's request to Mr. Rumsfeld to begin war planning had not been publicly known, and it had not been known that, as the book reports, Mr. Bush kept that request secret from other top advisers, including Mr. Powell, Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, and George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence."
Why did the CIA think Saddam had been killed before the ground war even began?
The New York Times reports: "The book also provides new details about the hurriedly arranged airstrike on March 19, 2003, in which the White House jump-started the war with a bomb and missile strike on the Dora Farms compound near Baghdad in a failed attempt to kill Saddam.
"The air raid, advocated by Tenet, had initially been opposed by Franks, the book says, but was approved by Bush and Cheney after they asked other advisers to leave the Oval Office.
"The strike was launched, the book says, on the basis of first-hand reports from Iraqi sources at Dora Farms enlisted by a network of 87 Iraqi spies, designated with the cryptonym DB/ROCKSTARS, who had been recruited by a CIA team that had infiltrated northern Iraq in the months before the war.
"In calls by satellite phone to the CIA team, the Iraqi sources reported that Saddam's sons Odai and Qusai were at the compound, and that Saddam himself would return there. After the strike, the book says, one Iraqi source reported that Saddam's body had been removed from the wreckage, prompting Tenet to celebrate what he thought had been a success.
"Even now, it is still not clear whether Saddam was at the site at all, though a CIA official said Friday that the agency maintains that Saddam was "probably" there and survived the U.S. raid. Woodward's book reports that the Iraqi security guard who was the main source of the intelligence was killed in the U.S. attack, but a CIA official said the Iraqi agents recruited by the agency had proved 'extraordinarily productive.'"
And, the Washington Post gives this excerpt:
"(Hans) Blix had told Rice, 'I have never complained about your military pressure. I think it's a good thing.' She relayed this to the president.
"'How long does he think I can do this?' Bush asked. 'A year? I can't. The United States can't stay in this position while Saddam plays games with the inspectors.'
"'You have to follow through on your threat,' Rice said. 'If you're going to carry out coercive diplomacy, you have to live with that decision.'
"'He's getting more confident, not less,' Bush said of Hussein. 'He can manipulate the international system again. We're not winning.
"'Time is not on our side here,' Bush told Rice. 'Probably going to have to, we're going to have to go to war.'
"In Rice's mind, this was the moment the president decided the United States would go to war with Iraq. Military planning had been underway for more than a year even as Bush sought a diplomatic solution through the United Nations. He would continue those efforts, at least publicly, for 10 more weeks, but he had reached a point of no return.
"The president also informed Karl Rove, his chief political strategist, of his decision over the holidays. Rove had gone to Crawford to brief Bush on the confidential plan for Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. While Laura Bush sat reading a book, Rove gave a PowerPoint presentation on the campaign's strategy, themes and timetable.
"Opening his laptop, he displayed for Bush in bold letters on a dark blue background:
"PERSONA:
"Strong Leader
"Bold Action
Big Ideas
"Peace in World
"More Compassionate America
"Cares About People Like Me
"Leads a Strong Team
"All things being equal, the president asked, when would you like to begin the campaign and active fundraising?
"Rove said he wanted the president to start that February or March and begin raising the money, probably $200 million. He had a schedule. In February, March and April 2003, there would be between 12 and 16 fundraisers.
"'We got a war coming,' the president told Rove flatly, 'and you're just going to have to wait.' He had decided. 'The moment is coming.' The president did not give a date, but he left the impression with Rove that it would be January or February or March at the latest.
"'Remember the problem with your dad's campaign,' Rove replied. 'A lot of people said he got started too late.'
"'I understand,' Bush said. 'I'll tell you when I'm comfortable with you starting.'"
A Little of the Old In and Out
In: Indiewire on Bill Murray at BAM. They write:
"When an audience member asked about his role in Wes Anderson's forthcoming 'The Life Aquatic,' Murray said the shoot was 'an absolute hell' as it stretched from a planned three months to more than five months, and the cast and crew had to deal with the cold Italian winter. But it was evidently worth it: 'It's the best movie that [Anderson] has ever made,' Murray said. 'I'm proud of everything that's on the screen.' When an audience member blurted out that Murray was robbed of the Oscar for 'Lost in Translation,' he smiled and assured that audience, 'I'm really okay... I don't care about the prizes. Making movies is the only thing I can do really well in my life that's not a disaster.'"
Out: Omerosa, to open VH1's Diva's Live. From a mean public official, to the Apprentice, to Clairol Herbal Essence commercials to hosting a VH1 Show. Why do we continue to reward evil?
In: Everyone's favorite cafe society blogger, David Patrick Columbia, a man surrounded my money and priviledge, waxed compassionaltely for a moment in his Social Diary:
"I was reminded of a dinner of the United Nations Association of the United States of America a few years ago where former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin spoke. He said that most of the world (population-wise) was so poor, that if us wealthier ones didn�t do something about improving their lot in life, there would be worse problems for all of us. They have nothing to lose."
Then, of course, ironically, our Columbia launched into a Tale of Two Parties, one at Elaine's with The Bruckheimers and Blaine and Robert Trump, and the other at Celine's for Neighborhood House's 10th Anniversary.
We still love you, David. Someone's got to cover the rich.
Out: Cheney. The Washington Post's William Hamilton writes today:
"Woodward describes a relationship between Cheney and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell that became so strained Cheney and Powell are barely on speaking terms. Cheney engaged in a bitter and eventually winning struggle over Iraq with Powell, an opponent of war who believed Cheney was obsessively trying to establish a connection between Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network and treated ambiguous intelligence as fact.
"Powell felt Cheney and his allies -- his chief aide, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby; Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz; and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith and what Powell called Feith's 'Gestapo' office -- had established what amounted to a separate government. The vice president, for his part, believed Powell was mainly concerned with his own popularity and told friends at a dinner he hosted a year ago celebrating the outcome of the war that Powell was a problem and 'always had major reservations about what we were trying to do.'
"Before the war with Iraq, Powell bluntly told Bush that if he sent U.S. troops there "you're going to be owning this place." Powell and his deputy and closest friend, Richard L. Armitage, used to refer to what they called 'the Pottery Barn rule' on Iraq: 'You break it, you own it,' according to Woodward."
So, do you think Cheney will claim "health issues" and quit the ticket in Spring, or right before the convention?
In: Nothing says "I'm sorry I fucked someone else," like a pink diamond (thanks, fashionweekdaily). According to professionaljeweller.com:
"When L.A. Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who was recently charged with rape, gave his wife a $4 million purplish pink diamond 'apology' ring after publicly confessing to adultery, many observers joked that he was creating a new category of jewelry."
Indeed he has. The eight karat pink cheaters diamond. First Kobe, now Becks. Accroding to Ananova:
"Victoria Beckham is celebrating her 30th birthday today but husband David is thousands of miles away in Spain.
"She is planning a small family party at 'Beckingham Palace', the couple's Hertfordshire home, while he is in Spain for Real Madrid's clash with Atletico Madrid.
"The couple hope to be reunited on Sunday when Victoria should be getting a very special birthday present - David has reportedly bought her a �1 million pink diamond ring."
But what about the rest of us cheaters who don't make the Oprah money?
Out: Who leaked Valerie Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak? My guess? Scooter Libby.
In: Indiewire on Bill Murray at BAM. They write:
"When an audience member asked about his role in Wes Anderson's forthcoming 'The Life Aquatic,' Murray said the shoot was 'an absolute hell' as it stretched from a planned three months to more than five months, and the cast and crew had to deal with the cold Italian winter. But it was evidently worth it: 'It's the best movie that [Anderson] has ever made,' Murray said. 'I'm proud of everything that's on the screen.' When an audience member blurted out that Murray was robbed of the Oscar for 'Lost in Translation,' he smiled and assured that audience, 'I'm really okay... I don't care about the prizes. Making movies is the only thing I can do really well in my life that's not a disaster.'"
Out: Omerosa, to open VH1's Diva's Live. From a mean public official, to the Apprentice, to Clairol Herbal Essence commercials to hosting a VH1 Show. Why do we continue to reward evil?
In: Everyone's favorite cafe society blogger, David Patrick Columbia, a man surrounded my money and priviledge, waxed compassionaltely for a moment in his Social Diary:
"I was reminded of a dinner of the United Nations Association of the United States of America a few years ago where former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin spoke. He said that most of the world (population-wise) was so poor, that if us wealthier ones didn�t do something about improving their lot in life, there would be worse problems for all of us. They have nothing to lose."
Then, of course, ironically, our Columbia launched into a Tale of Two Parties, one at Elaine's with The Bruckheimers and Blaine and Robert Trump, and the other at Celine's for Neighborhood House's 10th Anniversary.
We still love you, David. Someone's got to cover the rich.
Out: Cheney. The Washington Post's William Hamilton writes today:
"Woodward describes a relationship between Cheney and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell that became so strained Cheney and Powell are barely on speaking terms. Cheney engaged in a bitter and eventually winning struggle over Iraq with Powell, an opponent of war who believed Cheney was obsessively trying to establish a connection between Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network and treated ambiguous intelligence as fact.
"Powell felt Cheney and his allies -- his chief aide, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby; Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz; and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith and what Powell called Feith's 'Gestapo' office -- had established what amounted to a separate government. The vice president, for his part, believed Powell was mainly concerned with his own popularity and told friends at a dinner he hosted a year ago celebrating the outcome of the war that Powell was a problem and 'always had major reservations about what we were trying to do.'
"Before the war with Iraq, Powell bluntly told Bush that if he sent U.S. troops there "you're going to be owning this place." Powell and his deputy and closest friend, Richard L. Armitage, used to refer to what they called 'the Pottery Barn rule' on Iraq: 'You break it, you own it,' according to Woodward."
So, do you think Cheney will claim "health issues" and quit the ticket in Spring, or right before the convention?
In: Nothing says "I'm sorry I fucked someone else," like a pink diamond (thanks, fashionweekdaily). According to professionaljeweller.com:
"When L.A. Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who was recently charged with rape, gave his wife a $4 million purplish pink diamond 'apology' ring after publicly confessing to adultery, many observers joked that he was creating a new category of jewelry."
Indeed he has. The eight karat pink cheaters diamond. First Kobe, now Becks. Accroding to Ananova:
"Victoria Beckham is celebrating her 30th birthday today but husband David is thousands of miles away in Spain.
"She is planning a small family party at 'Beckingham Palace', the couple's Hertfordshire home, while he is in Spain for Real Madrid's clash with Atletico Madrid.
"The couple hope to be reunited on Sunday when Victoria should be getting a very special birthday present - David has reportedly bought her a �1 million pink diamond ring."
But what about the rest of us cheaters who don't make the Oprah money?
Out: Who leaked Valerie Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak? My guess? Scooter Libby.
T-Minus 3 Days to Woodward 60 Minutes Bombshell
President Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan
In three days Bob Wodward appears on 60 Minutes to detonate nuclear powered revelations about the Bush Administrations readiness in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The CBS web site reads:
"Woodward interviewed 75 of the people who helped prepare for the war, including President Bush � the only source who speaks for attribution -- in the upcoming book, �Plan of Attack,� published by Simon & Schuster. Both CBSNews.com and Simon & Schuster are units of Viacom."
Hmm. I guess Drudge really got to them. The web site goes on to say:
"In the interview, Woodward talked about how the administration was able to finance secret preparations for the Iraq war.
"'President Bush, after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically and takes him into a little cubbyhole room and closes the door and says, 'What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq?' What is the status of the war plan? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret,' says Woodward.
"'...The end of July 2002, they need $700 million, a large amount of money for all these tasks. And the president approves it. But Congress doesn't know and it is done. They get the money from a supplemental appropriation for the Afghan War, which Congress has approved. ...Some people are gonna look at a document called the Constitution which says that no money will be drawn from the treasury unless appropriated by Congress. Congress was totally in the dark on this.'"
According to CBS:
"Woodward will answer the following questions, among others, in the interview with Wallace Sunday night:
-How early did President Bush begin planning the war on Iraq?
-In the war�s wake, which top administration officials now barely speak to each other?
-What did the CIA say to President Bush to convince him that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction?
-Which foreign dignitary was told of the plans to attack Iraq days before even key cabinet members were briefed?
-Which key advisers did President Bush ask � and not ask � about whether he should go to war with Iraq?
-Why did the CIA think Saddam had been killed before the ground war even began?"
According to Foxnews, "President Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan and was so worried the decision would cause a furor he did not tell everyone on his national security team, says a new book on his Iraq policy.
"Bush feared that if news got out about the Iraq plan as U.S. forces were fighting another conflict, people would think he was too eager for war, journalist Bob Woodward writes in Plan of Attack, a behind-the-scenes account of the 16 months leading to the Iraq invasion.
"The Associated Press obtained a copy of the book, which will be available in book stores next week.
"'I knew what would happen if people thought we were developing a potential war plan for Iraq,' Bush is quoted as telling Woodward. 'It was such a high-stakes moment and ... it would look like that I was anxious to go to war. And I'm not anxious to go to war.'
"Bush and his aides have denied accusations they were preoccupied with Iraq at the cost of paying attention to the Al Qaeda terrorist threat before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"A commission investigating the attacks just concluded several weeks of extraordinary public testimony from high-ranking government officials. One of them, former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, charged the Bush administration's determination to invade Iraq undermined the war on terror.
"Woodward's account fleshes out the degree to which some members of the administration, particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, were focused on Saddam Hussein from the onset of Bush's presidency and even after the terrorist attacks made the destruction of Al Qaeda the top priority."
The story continues on Foxnews:
"The book says Bush told Rumsfeld to keep quiet about it and when the defense secretary asked to bring CIA Director George Tenet into the planning at some point, the president said not to do so yet.
"Even Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was apparently not fully briefed. Woodward said Bush told her that morning he was having Rumsfeld work on Iraq but did not give details.
"In an interview two years later, Bush told Woodward that if the news had leaked, it would have caused 'enormous international angst and domestic speculation.'
"The Bush administration's drive toward war with Iraq raised an international furor anyway, alienating long-time allies who did not believe the White House had made a sufficient case against Saddam. Saddam was toppled a year ago and taken into custody last December. But the central figure of Al Qaeda, Usama bin Laden, remains at large and a threat to the West.
"The book says Gen. Tommy Franks, who was in charge of the Afghan war as head of Central Command, uttered a string of obscenities (ed note: italics mine-- R Mwangaguhunga) when the Pentagon told him to come up with an Iraq war plan in the midst of fighting another conflict.
And the story continues, on Foxnews:
"Woodward, a Washington Post journalist who wrote an earlier book on Bush's anti-terrorism campaign and broke the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, says Cheney's well-known hawkish attitudes on Iraq were frequently decisive in Bush's decision-making.
"Cheney pressed the outgoing Clinton administration to brief Bush on the Iraq threat before he took office, Woodward writes.
"In August 2002, when Bush talked publicly of being a patient man who would weigh Iraqi options carefully, the vice president took the administration's Iraq policy on a harder track in a speech declaring the weapons inspections ineffective.
"Cheney's speech was viewed as the beginning of a campaign to undermine or overthrow Saddam. Woodward said Bush let Cheney make the speech without asking what he would say.
"The vice president also figured prominently in a protracted decision March 19, 2003, to strike Iraq before a 48-hour ultimatum for Saddam Hussein to leave the country had expired.
"When the CIA and its Iraqi sources reported that Saddam's sons and other family members were at a small palace, and Saddam was on his way to join them, Bush's top advisers debated whether to strike ahead of plan.
"Franks was against it, saying it was unfair to move before a deadline announced to the other side, the book says. Rumsfeld and Rice favored the early strike, and Secretary of State Colin Powell leaned that way.
"But Bush did not make his decision until he had cleared everyone out of the Oval Office except the vice president. 'I think we ought to go for it,' (ed note: italiscs mine -R. Mwangaguhunga) Cheney is quoted as saying. Bush did.
"U.S. forces unleashed bombs and cruise missiles, blanketing the compound but missing the palace. Tenet called the White House before dawn to say the Iraqi leader had been killed. But his optimism was premature. Saddam was alive."
60 Minutes is on Sunday at 7 pm on CBS.
President Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan
In three days Bob Wodward appears on 60 Minutes to detonate nuclear powered revelations about the Bush Administrations readiness in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The CBS web site reads:
"Woodward interviewed 75 of the people who helped prepare for the war, including President Bush � the only source who speaks for attribution -- in the upcoming book, �Plan of Attack,� published by Simon & Schuster. Both CBSNews.com and Simon & Schuster are units of Viacom."
Hmm. I guess Drudge really got to them. The web site goes on to say:
"In the interview, Woodward talked about how the administration was able to finance secret preparations for the Iraq war.
"'President Bush, after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically and takes him into a little cubbyhole room and closes the door and says, 'What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq?' What is the status of the war plan? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret,' says Woodward.
"'...The end of July 2002, they need $700 million, a large amount of money for all these tasks. And the president approves it. But Congress doesn't know and it is done. They get the money from a supplemental appropriation for the Afghan War, which Congress has approved. ...Some people are gonna look at a document called the Constitution which says that no money will be drawn from the treasury unless appropriated by Congress. Congress was totally in the dark on this.'"
According to CBS:
"Woodward will answer the following questions, among others, in the interview with Wallace Sunday night:
-How early did President Bush begin planning the war on Iraq?
-In the war�s wake, which top administration officials now barely speak to each other?
-What did the CIA say to President Bush to convince him that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction?
-Which foreign dignitary was told of the plans to attack Iraq days before even key cabinet members were briefed?
-Which key advisers did President Bush ask � and not ask � about whether he should go to war with Iraq?
-Why did the CIA think Saddam had been killed before the ground war even began?"
According to Foxnews, "President Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan and was so worried the decision would cause a furor he did not tell everyone on his national security team, says a new book on his Iraq policy.
"Bush feared that if news got out about the Iraq plan as U.S. forces were fighting another conflict, people would think he was too eager for war, journalist Bob Woodward writes in Plan of Attack, a behind-the-scenes account of the 16 months leading to the Iraq invasion.
"The Associated Press obtained a copy of the book, which will be available in book stores next week.
"'I knew what would happen if people thought we were developing a potential war plan for Iraq,' Bush is quoted as telling Woodward. 'It was such a high-stakes moment and ... it would look like that I was anxious to go to war. And I'm not anxious to go to war.'
"Bush and his aides have denied accusations they were preoccupied with Iraq at the cost of paying attention to the Al Qaeda terrorist threat before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"A commission investigating the attacks just concluded several weeks of extraordinary public testimony from high-ranking government officials. One of them, former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, charged the Bush administration's determination to invade Iraq undermined the war on terror.
"Woodward's account fleshes out the degree to which some members of the administration, particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, were focused on Saddam Hussein from the onset of Bush's presidency and even after the terrorist attacks made the destruction of Al Qaeda the top priority."
The story continues on Foxnews:
"The book says Bush told Rumsfeld to keep quiet about it and when the defense secretary asked to bring CIA Director George Tenet into the planning at some point, the president said not to do so yet.
"Even Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was apparently not fully briefed. Woodward said Bush told her that morning he was having Rumsfeld work on Iraq but did not give details.
"In an interview two years later, Bush told Woodward that if the news had leaked, it would have caused 'enormous international angst and domestic speculation.'
"The Bush administration's drive toward war with Iraq raised an international furor anyway, alienating long-time allies who did not believe the White House had made a sufficient case against Saddam. Saddam was toppled a year ago and taken into custody last December. But the central figure of Al Qaeda, Usama bin Laden, remains at large and a threat to the West.
"The book says Gen. Tommy Franks, who was in charge of the Afghan war as head of Central Command, uttered a string of obscenities (ed note: italics mine-- R Mwangaguhunga) when the Pentagon told him to come up with an Iraq war plan in the midst of fighting another conflict.
And the story continues, on Foxnews:
"Woodward, a Washington Post journalist who wrote an earlier book on Bush's anti-terrorism campaign and broke the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, says Cheney's well-known hawkish attitudes on Iraq were frequently decisive in Bush's decision-making.
"Cheney pressed the outgoing Clinton administration to brief Bush on the Iraq threat before he took office, Woodward writes.
"In August 2002, when Bush talked publicly of being a patient man who would weigh Iraqi options carefully, the vice president took the administration's Iraq policy on a harder track in a speech declaring the weapons inspections ineffective.
"Cheney's speech was viewed as the beginning of a campaign to undermine or overthrow Saddam. Woodward said Bush let Cheney make the speech without asking what he would say.
"The vice president also figured prominently in a protracted decision March 19, 2003, to strike Iraq before a 48-hour ultimatum for Saddam Hussein to leave the country had expired.
"When the CIA and its Iraqi sources reported that Saddam's sons and other family members were at a small palace, and Saddam was on his way to join them, Bush's top advisers debated whether to strike ahead of plan.
"Franks was against it, saying it was unfair to move before a deadline announced to the other side, the book says. Rumsfeld and Rice favored the early strike, and Secretary of State Colin Powell leaned that way.
"But Bush did not make his decision until he had cleared everyone out of the Oval Office except the vice president. 'I think we ought to go for it,' (ed note: italiscs mine -R. Mwangaguhunga) Cheney is quoted as saying. Bush did.
"U.S. forces unleashed bombs and cruise missiles, blanketing the compound but missing the palace. Tenet called the White House before dawn to say the Iraqi leader had been killed. But his optimism was premature. Saddam was alive."
60 Minutes is on Sunday at 7 pm on CBS.
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