RIP, "Johnny Cakes"



NYPost via Gawker:

"The Brooklyn actor who played Johnny Cakes - the gay-fireman lover of a mob capo on 'The Sopranos' - killed himself in a holiday tragedy that has stunned family and friends.

"The front door to John Costelloe's Sunset Park home was still sealed with police stickers yesterday, more than a week after the rugged 47-year-old actor committed suicide.

"Costelloe, a former FDNY firefighter, shot himself in the head in his basement bedroom on Dec. 16, cops and pals said.

"'It's beyond me. This is too much for me to handle right now,' the actor's dad, Michael Costelloe, 77, said yesterday."

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"'Excuse Ms. Kitt, do you mind if I take your photo for Paper magazine' I asked as I've done countless times. Keeping a chill demeanor always did the trick -- even with notoriously anti-photo types like Lou Reed and his SO Laurie Anderson. Kitt just stared at me -- with a terrified expression I might add. 'It's just a website...one photo is all I'd need,' I said, gently as only a meek Canadian could... feeling increasingly uncomfortable because of her silence. Again, she just stared like a deer in the headlights and without saying a word, scurried off to her backstage. What a weirdo, I thought. Classic WTF moment. Maybe I reminded her of some swarthy ne'er-do-well who pulled some shady Ike Turner-type juju on her back in the day." (Rapspace)

"2008 was like herpes, very hard to get rid of. 2009 will be worse, trust me, as Bernie Madoff used to tell the suckers. This one, incidentally, is not over. The greatest scam ever perpetrated will go on and on. Madoff was not alone, and if the crooks in the SEC who turned a blind eye to his Ponzi scheme are ever forced to come clean, some pretty big names will hopefully end up in striped suits sewing buttons. Madoff scammed small investors, billionaires, hedge fund idiots, charities, pension funds and multinational banks. What is incredible is that his fund was repeatedly brought to the attention of the SEC, and every time he was given a clean bill of health. The fact Madoff’s niece was married to an SEC regulator has to play a role in the investigation. Libel laws prevent me from naming names, but they’re out there, being talked about by everyone who can smell a rat after the fact .. Maybe he’s got something on them, or so say my Wall Street spies. The evil Madoff is skulking around free in (NYC), and smirking at the paparazzi even after failing to come up with his ten million dollar bond. (This was an obvious trick. As was the ploy of his two sons reporting him to the Feds. His stolen billions I suspect are safely deposited in off shore accounts to be enjoyed later on by his numerous grandchildren.) Here’s my crystal ball for 2009: The Madoff swindle is the first major scam of the current financial crisis .. I know many of the losers, at least three of the major ones live in Gstaad, and last week I was informed by my bank that I, too, had been granted the right to buy Madoff shares. (Not too many, thank God, but a seven figure sum all the same.)" (Takimag)

"RYAN Seacrest, Charlie Walk and Ben Silverman chatting about TV show ideas during a holiday lunch at Thomas Keller's Napa Valley eatery Bouchon." (PageSix)

"Peaches Geldof has hit back at claims her wedding to Max Drummey was a publicity stunt — saying she did it for love. She also denied her marriage in Las Vegas last August had angered her father, Bob Geldof." (Thisislondon)

"Yesterday in New York a banker and hedge fund investor Rene-Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, 65, committed suicide in his Madison Avenue office by slitting his wrists and taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Mr. de La Villehuchet’s fund was a major loser in the Madoff swindle. He was from an historic French family (the Magons) and his fund was associated with several high profile European names such as Philippe Junot, the first husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, and Prince Michel of Yugoslavia, the twin brother of Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia. According to associates, Mr. de La Villehuchet was at odds over how to right his clients’ enormous losses." (NYSocialDiary)

"Author/humorist David Sedaris turns 52 today. Jared Leto is 37 .. America's Most Wanted's John Walsh is 63." (Cityfile)

"Seventies-era Brit punks The Damned are playing a free concert at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square on December 30 at noon." (NYC, Papermag)

"Paris Hilton has turned into a amateur sleuth, combing surveillance video and beating the bushes for clues to crack a $2 million jewel heist at her California mansion. The millionaire hotel heiress and reality TV star says her investigation makes her think it was an inside job. 'I think whoever did this definitely has been there before,' Hilton told E! News. 'We have some suspects.'" (DailyNews)

Happy Holidays



Thanks for stopping by, commenting and reading this blog. And happy holidays,
Ron

Did Obama Leak Abs Photo To Placate "The Gays"?



Is it not conceivable that the President-elect, a skilled political player, might have "allowed" himself to be photographed with his shirt off to placate the gay backlash? Could he have been, like, Rick Warren will be holding the bible at my inauguration and I was silent on Prop 8 but -- DAYAM! -- (sotto vice) aren't my abs the bomb?

A Gaywired wrote in a headline, "Barack Obama: Firm Leader, Firm Abs."

On Kobayashi And Excess



(image via "seriosueats")

Historians of the future may look back forlornly at the United States and note that while famine rages in Somalia and Zimbabwe, Takeru Kobayashi that affable Japanese "competitive eater (He held the world record for hot dog eating for nearly six years)," is taking on fruitcakes as his next gastronomical project. From a site called, probably unironically, "seriouseats.com," we learn:

"Have you ever actually seen someone eat a fruitcake? Want to make up for lost time and watch professional eater Takeru Kobayashi stuff as many as he can into his mouth over ten minutes? The man already holds records for hot dogs, noodles, rice, and cow brains, but it'd be nice to hang the fruitcake medal over the mantel.

"Kobayashi will attempt to beat the current fruitcake record-holder Sonya 'the Black Widow' Thomas, who ate 4 pounds 14.25 ounces in 10 minutes in 2001."

Note to Oswald Spengler: You were correct!



(image via Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/Associated Press via nytimes)

Lifetime Returning Ad Money For "Project Runway"



(image via boston)

First Bravo's most-successful show "Project Runway" left the upscale channel for the more downmarket and profoundly victimish Lifetime. Drama! That's sort of like Billy Crudup leaving the fucking superhott Mary Louise Parker for the way less glam but, we cannot fail to note, still talented Claire Danes (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). Maybe Lifetime TV's really, really good in bed (Averted Gaze)?

In the first part, the breakup was met with shock and horror among the cognoscenti (Insert: Paganini Caprice No. 24 in A minor). Then, in Part the Second, lawsuits abounded; civility exits stage left as the Falstaffian Harvey Weinstein enters the fray. And in the final act we, the audience, are waiting rapt for a Deus-to-Exit-the-Machina and rescue the show from an all but certain ghastley end. From Mediapost:

"Whether 'Project Runway' will ever air on Lifetime is a question as difficult to forecast as which fashions will take off next fall. As a result, without a show for next month, Lifetime has begun to return money to advertisers who committed to the series via deals made in last summer's upfront.

"'With the current economy, clients are asking for cash back and they're getting it,' a person with knowledge of the matter said.

"A Lifetime representative declined comment."

"Last summer, with no reason to believe that 'Runway' would not air on the network, Lifetime sold it in the upfront for premium CPMs. Since then, the network has become entangled in a legal morass.

"How much the current give-backs will affect its business was partly detailed in court papers the network filed. A failure to air the show--either in January or ever--will leave Lifetime 'deprived of vital advertising commitments,' the papers said.

"Lifetime had planned to launch the show in November, but had moved the debut to next month.

"For networks, having to give cash back is a bête noire. As a rule, they look for ways to keep the dollars in-house--to offer advertisers additional impressions or some other form of makegoods.

"But in this case, Lifetime may have been caught between a rock (the uniqueness of 'Runway') and a hard place (a sputtering economy) that has left it needing to accede to advertiser requests.

"For marketers, 'Runway'--with its buzz, upscale audience and other driving factors--is such a desirable show to be a part of that Lifetime may not have other top programming to offer as a substitute to satisfy them. And with advertisers finding their budgets stretched thinner these days than when they may have committed to 'Runway' last summer, they may be eager to reclaim dollars if the show is a no-go.

More here.

Will Obama Legalize Pot?



(image via michigandaily)

Drudgie-Poo just twittered -- tweeted? Twunk? -- this link to a story in Esky by John Richardson titled "Why Obama Might Decriminalize Marijuana." Okay; that got our attention. Would that it were as easy as the title suggests. The article notes that even within the President-elect's kitchen cabinet there would be dissent. From the article:

" ... (A)las, the answer from Camp Obama was -- as it has been for years -- a flat one-liner: 'President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.' And at least two of Obama's top people are drug-war supporters: Rahm Emanuel has been a long-time enemy of reform, and Joe Biden is a drug-war mainstay who helped create the position of 'drug czar.'

"... Nevertheless, the marijuana community is guardedly optimistic. 'Reformers will probably be disappointed that Obama is not going to go as far as they want, but we're probably not going to continue this mindless path of prohibition,' NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre tells me.

"Some of Obama's biggest financial donors are friends of the legalization movement, St. Pierre notes. 'Frankly, George Soros, Peter Lewis, and John Sperling -- this triumvirate of billionaires -- if those three men, who put up $50 to $60 million to get Democrats and Obama elected, can't pick up the phone and actually get a one-to-one meeting on where this drug policy is going, then maybe it's true that when you give money, you don't expect favors.'"

Still, an interesting read to go along with the munchies. The full story here.

Why Is Matt Drudge Polling On Shirtless World Leaders?



Hmm. Has the upcoming holiday crunch finally driven right-leaning news-aggregator Matt Drudge bananas? We call shenanigans. Why is Drudgie-poo polling on whether or not the President-elect looks better barechested than the man-behind-the-puppet in Russia, Vladimir Putin?

And we will conveniently fail to bring up the fact that underneath "{{{DRUDGE POLL}}}SHIRTLESS:" is the headline teaser "PRESIDENT STIMULUS..." .. Clever (Averted Gaze).

Has Drudgie-poo gone plum boy-crazy in therse last weeks of 2008? Has he been hitting the egg-nog a bit early and a bit hard (no pun intended)? Will Matt next start opining on his love for diva-licious Chaka Khan *two snaps and a neck roll*? His opinion on the latest Chjer tour? Has Matt Drudge forgotten that his rightish clientelle might not cotton much to that sort of free-associating more comfortably tolerated in the Democrat party?

Just saying..

Corsair Classic


Lost Gospel: STARFUCKER POOL PARTY Rawnald Gregory Erickson II

Via Hipsterrunoff

A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via nndb)

In: Walter Russell Mead. If we lived in a better world, an intellect the calibre of Walter Russell Mead would be celebrated and Paris Hilton would be naught else but entirely irrelevant. Unfortunately, not enough people know about his rigorous mind and the subtlety with which he approaches the issue of religion and international relations (How many public intellectuals outside of the impotent Academy even care about the subject of religion in international relations), with emphasis on The history of the West.

Mead's most recent essay Change They Can Believe In, To Make Israel Safe, Give Palestinians Their Due was published last week in Foreign Affairs. It is genius; it is balanced and it brings out the complexity of the region underscoring how many great Men have failed to bring peace to the region and why we should keep trying. From Foreign Affairs, a taste:

"As Kissinger has famously observed, academic politics are so bitter because the stakes are so small. In one sense, this is true of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute as well: little land is involved. The Palestine of the British mandate, today divided into Israel proper and the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, was the size of New Jersey. In 1919, its total population was estimated at 651,000. Today, the territory counts about 5.4 million Jews and about 5.2 million Arabs. Two diasporas in other parts of the world -- some 7.7 million Jews and 5.2 million Palestinians -- believe that they, too, are entitled to live there."

Mead also spoke yesterday before the New America Foundation. In his talk -- which ran through the points made in his essay -- he made the point of bringing up the failure of the British Empire, which left us with the Palestinian question (and the Pakistan-India/Kashmir crisis btw). Mead also faulted Bill Clinton's overemphasis on dealing with Arafat, whose influence was in decline throughout the 90s. Mead is one of our favorite foreign policy intellectuals and, ironically, he, a student of faith, is the Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. Somewhere in the furnaces of Hades, Machiavelli is smiling at the confluence of matters of faith and Realism.



(image via subparspokane)

Out: Obamamania. Did Obama go too far in asking the hyper-ignorant Rick Warren to hold the Bible for him at the Inauguration? The timing -- after churchified African-Americans played such a major role in Prop 8 -- was, at the very least callous to gays. On the day he was elected President, Obama went so far as to mention gays in his victory speech. Michael Musto today asks on his blog with an almost Old Testament Thunder in his voice if that talk was just talk or if Obama represents change with regards to public perceptions of same-sexers:

"Up to now, the press has been shamelessly enraptured with everything Barack Obama says and does--he's been appointed our emblem of change and all our hopes are devotedly pinned on his feisty ass. But under scrutiny, cracks in Barack's armor have already started showing. There were grumblings about some of his Cabinet choices, and one especially wondered how he went from bashing Hillary Clinton when they were bitterly campaigning against each other to deciding she was his top choice for Secretary of State. Much more damagingly, he invited rabidly anti-gay pastor Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation, as we started sensing we had been totally bamboozled by Obama's soothing streams of yay-gay talk."

In: Ted Kennedy, Lion Of The senate. In what will probably be Ted Kennedy's final fight, he is using the skills gained from a lifetime in the United States Senate to navigate the Scylla and Charybdis -- is he not a Pisces? -- that is our broken down Health Care system to bring about massive reform. From Bloomberg:

"Senator Edward M. Kennedy, battling a deadly brain tumor, is pushing ahead on a plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system, ordering meetings with interest groups and negotiating with colleagues to ready a proposal that Barack Obama can act on after taking office.

"Kennedy, 76, had surgery for his cancer in June, and has since been treated with chemotherapy and radiation. While the type of tumor Kennedy has can sometimes be fatal within 18 months, the Massachusetts Democratic and his staff are pushing ahead in their efforts to secure approval of an idea championed by Kennedy for 46 years: medical insurance for all Americans.

"'This has been the cause of Kennedy’s life, and it’s clear he sees this as a great opportunity,' said Adam Clymer, the author of a Kennedy biography, in a telephone interview. 'There’s a president who wants it and, at this stage, there’s a lot less hostility from the industry' than in the past."

Even, perhaps, more than his magnificent fight from the Senate in the 80s to end South African Apartheid, this is the fight to which Ted Kennedy was born.

Is Charlie Rose Zelig?



Yes, we know of Charlie Rose. Exemplary interviewer of the powerful, blahblahblah (though, we cannot fail to note, slightly in love with the sound of his own voice). Plaything of the tea-and-cucumber sandwich set. Catnip to the socialites.

And, yes, Charlie loves sitting next to the powerful. It stirs those Rose-ian juices. He revels in the air they breathe; he laughs a little too hard at their unfunny imperial anecdotes. The late night fawner has made something of a career out of loving the rich and the powerful (bankrolled, to be sure, by the rich and the powerful Bloomberg). Remember when Brooke Astor -- at the time in her 90s -- had a crush on Rose? Fifth Avenue sparkled with Brookie's blush at Charlie's rose. Cougar (hear her mrow)! The professional chatter must have loved that as silently, in the quiet of his soul, he probably wondered: If only I had met her a half-century ago. But it was all for naught.

But did you notice last night as he interviewed Bill Gates that Rose (see above), disturbingly, wore nearly the same goddam outfit as his quarry? A crisp shirt tucked into a blue sweater of no doubt the naturalest of fibres. Positively weird. Oh, Charlie ... desist!

Is Charlie Rose metamorphosing into Leonard Zelig? Do we need an American artist like Woody Allen to concoct a mockumentary in 1920s newsreel style to untangle the Freudian subtexts of Charlie's Herculean conformity? Or was the proximity to "the ultimate capitalist" too much for his ambitious soul to take without some sartorial testimony to that lust.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"(Paris Hilton) took the pink Bentley out for a spin with her 'new best friend' Brittany Flickinger, who she found through her reality TV show (a long and loving relationship they have in the offing then)..The pair were out shopping, but you can't buy taste." (Thisislondon)

"Hillary Clinton's former chief strategist, Howard Wolfson, is heading halfway across the aisle to work for the reelection campaign of New York's formerly Republican, now independent, Mayor Mike Bloomberg. 'As a New Yorker, I am very excited at the prospect of helping the Mayor at this very critical time in our city's history,' he emailed friends this afternoon. 'It is quite clear to me that the Mayor's strong record provides a compelling case for his re-election -- and that he will provide the proven leadership we need to guide the City through the unprecedented fiscal challenges we face.' Wolfson will be "senior communications strategist -- that is, an imagemaker for a mayor whose popularity has slid a bit with the economy." (BenSmith/Politico)

"Spotted (December 23rd, NYC)| Hugh Jackman carrying daughter Ava across the street ... Katie Lee Joel leaving Pastis in the back of an SUV ... Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw buying pretzels on the corner of East 61st Street ... Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer leaving the Olive Tree Cafe on MacDougal Street ..." (CityFile)

"(C)urrent beau Jamie Hince is understood to be exceedingly Hacked off about (Kate Moss') decision to invite ex-lover/father of her child, Jefferson Hack, along to the festivities .. Says our source: 'Kate is a modern woman with modern values. As far as she's concerned, so long as her daughter Lila Grace is happy and surrounded by the people she loves, then she's happy too. This means inviting both Lila's dad, Jefferson, and her boyfriend, Jamie to her Cotswolds home - and sod the consequences. Yes, it may be a little awkward and there are bound to be squabbles over who gets the last roast potato, but Kate reckons as long as she acts as a buffer, all will be fine.'" (3AMGirls)

"Given the group's spotty attendance record, buying a ticket to a Wu-Tang concert is a risky proposition. '8 Diagrams,' the collective's first LP recorded since the passing of ODB, and it's their best posse long-player in a decade might make it worth their getting to the show though. Show up for the old classics—and get blown away by brand new highlights like 'Rushing Elephants,' 'Campfire,' and the Beatles-interpolating 'The Heart Gently Weeps.' After all, not knowing exactly who will show up to perform adds a little excitement, right?" (Wu Tang, Dec. 23 TONIGHT/Hammerstein Ballroom/ $50 via Metromix)

"At the Taleses’ annual Christmas Eve dinner party tomorrow night, Nan Talese will be serving her favorite: Francis Ford Coppola’s Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot to compliment the white-wine-and-lemon chicken and tender filet mignon. Until 2001, the couple attended an annual holiday party on East 64th Street thrown by their dear friend, Serpico author Peter Maas and his wife, Suzanne. But when Mr. Maas passed away two weeks before Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. and Mrs. Talese volunteered to move the gathering to their own four-story townhouse on East 61st Street, and invite the Maases’ guests as well as a few of their own. This year, the guest list has grown to an intimate 150." (Observer)

"Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis. Mrs. Clinton is recruiting Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under President Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Mr. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He and James B. Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration, are to be Mrs. Clinton’s chief lieutenants." (NYTimes)

"IT was eat, drink and be merry the other night at Mañana on East 61st Street when Rodman and Jacqueline Weld Drake convened 70 amigos to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Inhaling the lobster faji tas and Inocente tequila margari tas were Daisy and Paul Soros, Christine and Stephen Schwarzman, Dominick Dunne, Aileen Mehle and Frederick Eberstadt. When the deejay cranked it up, the young 'uns - Fran Lebowitz, Steven Aronson and Christopher Mason - felt the beat. The night before, financier Antonio Farnos celebrated the birthday of his chic wife, Ayla, at Mañana with estrellas like Christy Turlington and Ed Burns and Matthew and Marissa Noel Brown." (PageSix)

"In New York, at least in the world that we cover in the New York Social Diary, everyone is talking or thinking about the catastrophe of Madoff and his merry band of thieves. I say Merry Band because it is becoming clearer now that the dust is settling that the man wasn’t doing this all by his lonesome. There were others. Others who in a police docket might be called accomplices. Last time I heard, accomplices are also considered criminal." (NySocialDiary)



(image via style)

"Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana opened their eighth U.S. D&G store on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles on Monday night, and young Hollywood naturally turned out to celebrate. Miniature burgers, pigs in a blanket, french fries, and tiny pizzas were on the menu and Bijou Phillips and Rumer Willis were on the dance floor, boogying to the musical stylings of DJ Mom Jeans (a.k.a. actor Danny Masterson). The designers themselves weren’t in attendance, but Ginnifer Goodwin, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Nicole Richie, Jennifer Morrison, Gabrielle Union, and Lauren Conrad represented .." (Style)

"Defense Secretary Gates has spent much of his term wheedling, cajoling and begging our NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan. I've got an idea: Why not get the Saudis to pony up, say, 20-30,000 troops for Afghanistan, about the same number that Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said Sunday might be added to the 30,000 we already have there? After all, we saved the Saudis' bacon in the first Gulf War. And they seemed to have figured out that arresting al Qaeda operatives in the Kingdom is a better alternative to sheltering them. (Arresting terrorist financiers, of course, is another matter.) And while we're at it, why not demand that all those royal princes who've made a private flying club out of their shiny American F-15s peel off to Afghanistan, where they might be put to the use they were intended for?" (CQPolitics)

"Contrary to most others in the American workplace this year, Britney Spears's father, Jamie Spears, just got a salary increase: to about $75 an hour. On Monday, a Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner boosted by an additional $51,000 the elder Spears's payment for acting as his daughter's conservator, the Associated Press reports. Since February, Jamie, 56, has been looking after Britney, 27, to the tune of $10,000 a month. Court Commissioner Reva Goetz has now raised his fee to about $16,000 a month – and made the pay retroactive. Jamie was also granted an additional $1,200 a month for office expenses, which Goetz said was justified by the fact that Britney's personal and professional life – her new CD Circus recently debuted at No. 1 – now appears to be back on track." (People)

"The problem with the Republican Party is there are too many wooly mammoths like me wandering around. It’s time to kill us off. Just slaughter us all. Drive us into the tar pits and move on. Republicans working in leadership and the trenches are largely old, white, male, out-of-touch, out of ideas, technology averse, and living in the past." (Mark McKinnon/TheDailyBeast)

"FishbowlDC's Patrick Gavin obtained an internal memo from DC bureau chief Bryan Boughton, informing staff that Brit Hume's last day anchoring 'Special Report' will be tomorrow. 'Anyone who can please join us at 9:30am tomorrow (tues) to spend a few minutes honoring Brit on his last day anchoring. We'll gather in the newsroom,' says the memo." (TVNewser via FishbowlDC)

"The dominoes continue to fall at the Washington Post ... Jim Brady, executive editor of WashingtonPost.com, is leaving the paper after a successful four-year run, his role increasingly marginalized following a series of executive moves and the decision to integrate the print and digital newsrooms. The promotion of Katharine Weymouth to publisher and the head of the new Washington Post Media Group earlier this year, followed by her choice of former WSJ managing editor Marcus Brauchli as Leonard Downie’s successor, altered the chemistry and accelerated the idea of integrating the news operations." (Paidcontent)

"Football was the ratings king Sunday, handing NBC a nightly victory and helping Fox finish at No. 2. NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' broadcast of the game between the Carolina Panthers at the New York Giants scored a 12.9 household rating/21 share in the meter markets, up 30% vs. the same night last year. Reliable time-adjusted total viewer and adults 18-49 numbers for the game won't be available until Tuesday, but NBC is expected to easily win Sunday night in both categories. An NFL overrun boosted Fox's Sunday slate of animated comedy reruns to second place in adults 18-49 (3.0/8) and third in total viewers (7.6 million). CBS, the only network to air an all-fresh nonsports lineup -- '60 Minutes,' 'Million Dollar Password,' 'Cold Case' and 'The Unit'-- averaged 10.7 million viewers and a 2.0/5 in 18-49. ABC (6.4 million, 1.9/5) was fourth." (THR)

"Bonnaroo, the East Coast's premiere multi-day, multi-stage gathering of the vibes (held in Manchester, Tennessee from June 11th to 14th) usually doesn't release its lineup until early February -- but RollingStone.com hears from reliable sources close to Phish that the band will top the bill for two nights, restoring the fest to its jam-friendly roots.......Also being buzzed about with some legitimacy: Bruce Springsteen as Sunday night's closer..." (BrooklynVegan)

"The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric saw their most Total Viewers last week in nearly two years, with NBC winning in the category for the 10th week in a row. NBC had its highest Total Viewer average since the week of February 12, 2007. For CBS — its highest since the week of February 26, 2007. NBC also won in the A25-54 demo, for the fourth week in a row. But it was also the only network to decline week-to-week in the category." (TVNewser)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



"--Like a ruined plate of beef cheek laid before us." (image via vashtie)



What he loves most about Dostoievsky are the florid, meaty sentences. (image via thecobrasnake)



Can we watch? (image via thecobrasnake)



Myth: Unless a weapon is used it isn't eye-rape.(image via thecobrasnake)



What fools these mortals be ..(image via thecobrasnake)

Mark Mason, Vice President of Digital Media, CBS Radio



The synergies -- if we can we still use that word with a straight face -- between bloggers and terrestrial radio appear to be on the face of things a no-brainer. Both, in this economy with declining ad revenues, are in the hour of the wolf. And music programming is no longer really an arena in which terrestrial radio can compete with the uncensored choices offered by satellite radio, the self-censored choices of one's own personal iPod, YouTube and, of course, the web.

How can radio stations compete against the variety on the web, unencumbered by FCC roadblocks. And, further: When was the last time you listened to terrestrial radio for music? Still, terrestrial radio is far from dead (it's just taking a "disco nap"). Now, some good news for the industry: How many drivers -- radio's most favorite captive audience -- are going to be spending on satellite radio in the coming rough financial quarters?

The NYTimes today notes that right-wing talk radio is alive and well on the terrestrial front. It is not inconceivable that some form of "rebel radio" in which a radio personality can skillfully navigate FCC guidelines but still present something edgy and hip may be the future of the industry. Bloggers, who are in the habit of generating tremendous amounts of edgy, non-mainstream-y content, may be a natural fit for radio in the role of "correspondents." Should the economy eat at the advertising revenues of some of the stronger blogs, content partnerships between the blogs and terrestrial radio fit well. Traditional terrestrial radio -- not web radio -- lacks hipness, and it is in need of interesting content and, of course, young listeners; Bloggers may find themselves lacking in ad revenues, but never lack for hipness or content. Could bloggers bring over some of their young audience to a terrestrial radio station?

Mark Mason, former Program Director and the new VP of Digital Media at CBS Radio, is speaking on that wavelength. From the NYDailyNews:

"'Even five years ago, who would have thought we'd be where we are today with the Web?' asks Mason. 'So I wish I could say I know where we'll be in five years. But I'm not even sure where we'll be in five months.

"'It's a great challenge. As program director at WINS, I'd lie awake at night thinking how we could cover a political scandal. Now I'll lie awake trying to imagine what we can do that we haven't even thought of yet.'

"...'Soon we'll have a dedicated staff for the Web,' he says. 'Today a radio station sends people to the Web. At some point, when the Web is generating its own content, it will probably send people to the radio station.'

"'Those station sites will do some of those things that haven't been conceived yet. Some will be interactive, some will use applications now in development. Some, Mason says, will spring from 'creative partnerships.'

"'We still don't know all the ways people will use the Web,' he says. 'We may want affiliations in the blogosphere.'"

Early last year WNBC -- our local station here in NYC -- had a chance at building a relationship to the many blogs in New York with the lure of its prestige. They blew it. At present, WNBC's multiplatform shift at 30 Rock appears to be moving at a glacial pace; NBC 4's local broadcast is behind the curve.

CBS Radio's NY stations, which vary in programming from hard news to entertainment, might want to learn from WNBC's mistakes. 1010 WINS, for example, is a strong brand for up-to-the-minute breaking news in NYC and would be perfect for an online community, mobile alerts, and, of course, tips.

The Untitled Thundercats Project?

Warner Bros. optioned "Thundercats." Is that what we can expect?



Via Kevin Smith/Twitter

Corsair Classic

"Marley & Me Nudie Trifecta" via Popwatch:



Any more cast members -- maybe a key grip -- gonna drop trou to promote this thing?

Women We Love: Taraji P. Henson



(image via mtv)

We are presently OBSESSED with Taraji P. Henson. So hott. Taraji is presently stealing the show in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with her awesomeness. She speaks of her experience filming in New Orleans, after the flood. From AintitcoolNews:

"I can say I am proud of a lot of things having to do with this film, but the one thing that is dear to my heart was that we were this huge production coming to New Orleans, bringing revenue, bringing jobs for people. It was during the holiday seasons, so we bought families meals; you name it, we did it. I adopted a family that actually lost everything twice -- a single mom with two daughters who lost everything to Katrina, of course, but when she came back to rebuild, there was a problem with the gas line and there was a leak and the place blew up, and she lost everything again. So I got her a place, paid her three month's rent, and bought her a holiday dinner."

Will Obama Be Good For Right-Wing Radio?



(image via excitations)

An advertising manager for The Nation magazine once told The Corsair that in opposition governments -- Republicans -- subscriptions for the nation's oldest weekly rise. The Presidency of Barack Obama, according to Brian Stelter in today's Times, may mean a Risorgimento of conservative talk radio. Right wing talk radio seems also, interestingly, to be most resistant to the challenges of iPods, the Internet and satellite radio. From The NYTimes:

"After eight years of playing defense for President Bush, the conservatives who dominate talk radio are back on offense.

"Hours after Mr. Obama’s election, the country’s most popular radio host, Rush Limbaugh, was talking about the 'rebirth of principled opposition.'

"Sean Hannity, the second highest-rated host, quickly cast his afternoon show as the home of 'conservatism in exile.'

"It is a lively time to be behind the microphone. One television talker, Joe Scarborough, is starting a radio show. Another, Bill O’Reilly, is ending his.


"... Five of the most popular syndicated names in news-talk radio — Mr. Limbaugh, Mr. Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage and Laura Ingraham — signed new contracts in the last 12 months, all but guaranteeing that they will be rallying listeners for the duration of Mr. Obama’s four-year term. Mr. Limbaugh’s landmark contract, announced in July, promised a total of $400 million through 2016."

In addition to those three, Stelter lists a horde of rightie talkers that may see benefits from being on "offense" in an Obama administration. Former Perotista -- how embarrasing was that? -- Dennis Miller's "Dennis Miller Show" is syndicated on 200 stations. The caustic "Mark Levin Show" is in 175 markets. Monica Crowley, is about to be syndicated daily through the Talk Radio Network (Does the cameraman on "The McLaughlin Group" consciously or unconsciously pan to her legs at least twice a show). Rudolph W. Giuliani -- we call him "Giggliani" -- is in talks with Westwood One. Huckabee is hosting short segments for ABC Radio beginning Jan. 5.

Russian Oligarchs Seek Loans



Naomi and her personal oligarch of love Vladislav Doronin via thisislondon)


It's hard out there for an oligarch (pimps too, but oligarchs are far more intriguing character studies in Evil). How, we ask, is your average Slavic financial despot supposed to wine and dine Naomi Campbell in these economic times? "Presents" make Naomi less punchy!

And British football clubs don't grow on trees. Who is going to buy all that shitty contemporary "art"? Bloomberg's scoop:

"Russian oligarchs are lining up for $78 billion of Kremlin loans to survive the credit squeeze, handing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the opportunity to increase government control of the nation’s biggest companies.

"Just 12 years after they gained ownership of the former Soviet Union’s industries by bailing out the government, the tables have been turned. More than 100 business leaders are vying for loans from Putin and the administration of President Dmitry Medvedev because Russian companies have about $110 billion of foreign obligations due next year, according to the central bank, double the total owed in Brazil, India and China.

"Business leaders who tripled international debt in the past three years are putting up part of their stock as collateral for government support because they’ve been hobbled by tumbling commodity prices and the biggest drop in the ruble since Russia’s default in 1998. Putin already is aiding billionaires Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska and considering requests from Dmitry Pumpyansky of pipemaker OAO TMK, OAO Severstal’s Alexei Mordashov and AFK Sistema’s Vladimir Yevtushenkov.

"'Some of them will definitely lose their property, either to the state or to investors,' billionaire Alexander Lebedev, 49, said in a Dec. 8 interview, 11 days before Deutsche Bank AG demanded early repayment of a loan guaranteed by 3 percent of Moscow-based ZAO National Reserve Corp.’s 29 percent stake in OAO Aeroflot, the national airline. 'They’ve been over- borrowing and sales of their companies have been falling.'"

It seems like Russia's little war with Georgia, in retrospect, was a bad idea. Good for internal pride and local color; bad for investors, who have pulled hundreds of billions from the Russian stock market in the intervening months. More of Bloomberg's scoop here.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via abcnews)

"It's been a little more than a week since Bernie Madoff raped me financially .. Hundreds of vitriolic comments blasted onto the site basically calling me a rich bitch. A few were sympathetic. I wasn't surprised one way or the other because I'm scared shitless about just having to survive these days. But it suddenly seemed clear to me that we are all in this together. Aren't we all afraid when we've lost our jobs, our savings, our homes, pensions—and our confidence? ...In these ten days the M.F. has been parading around town with that rictus smile on his greedy, bloated face, while his personal chef is sweating in one of his kitchens, preparing moist, exquisite Kobe beef for him. Last night I thought, ‘Okay, it's Saturday, I'll leave work, it's time for a treat.’ Called the consort and we decided we'd try and watch some TV and munch on a pizza. There's a Domino's on my corner so I sally in and order two pizzas, no salads, no extras." (Alexandra Penney/TheDailyBeast)

"Last night after dinner at Swifty’s, I was standing on the corner of 72nd Street and Park Avenue saying goodnight to my dinner date when a couple she knew walked by in their warm winter woolies, moving quickly as if heading home to out of the cold. The man of the couple had lost a great deal of his fortune with Madoff. We just happened to know." (NYSocialDiary)

"Samantha Ronson may want her relationship with Lindsay Lohan to work for more reasons than just love: Since dating the actress, the deejay’s fee per gig has jumped from around $1,500 to as much as $25,000, netting Ronson close to $3 million over the last year. 'While Sam never contractually agrees that Lindsay will show up to her shows, promoters, owners and publicists all know that if you book Sam, there’s a high likelihood Lindsay will also show,' an insider close to the couple told us." (Gatecrasher)

"MSNBC may find out soon whether 'Hardball' host Chris Matthews returns to the channel, which has been invigorated in the ratings. Matthews is said to be considering an offer from NBC to remain as host of 'Hardball,' a job he's held for more than a decade, or to return to his native Pennsylvania to run for the U.S. Senate against GOP incumbent Arlen Specter. There are indications that a decision could come soon, sometime before Inaugural Day. But MSNBC president Phil Griffin declined late last week to say whether that's true or not. 'I've talked to Chris. I think he's going to be here for a long time,' Griffin said. 'I want him to be here for a long time.' Griffin said that there would be 'clarity' soon." (THR)

"What is it with Barack Obama and preachers? First, he sits in Jeremiah Wright's congregation for two decades and finds himself defending, then distancing himself from what amounts to hate speech. Now he's picked a bigot to give his invocation at the inauguration. Rick Warren's anti-gay invectives stirred Rep. Barney Frank, a leading gay member of Congress, to denounce Obama's plans for the preacher to bless his inaugural. Obama needs to find a preacher who offends no one (Ed note: good luck)." (CQPolitics)

"Jeremy Piven quit his Broadway show three months early because of an overexposure to mercury. Sounds serious! And fake! So who's treating him? A celebrity doctor with a shady past named Carlon Colker. Colker is a former body builder turned celebrity physician and motivational speaker in his early 40's. He's been on weight loss TV shows, promoted wellness with the likes of Christie Brinkley, and coached Shaq." (Gawker)

"Jeremy Piven doesn't need a publicist—he's an expert at self-promotion. The Entourage star has been visiting the Soho branch of Equinox while he's in town appearing in Speed-the-Plow, and he appears to be pumping up in more ways than one. Every morning when he comes in, he stops at the gym's juice bar to buy water. Last week, a young, attractive brunette who works there squinted at the actor, who was dressed in a baseball cap, a black hoodie and sweatpants, and said, 'You know, you look like Ari Gold on Entourage.' Jeremy looked her straight in the eye and replied, 'I hear he's a badass guy.'" (PageSixMagazine)



(will vs. carey via guardian)

"Everyone expected yucks to trump tears at the North American box office where comedy has been mostly king since Thanksgiving. So no surprise that Warner Bros' Jim Carrey derivative laugher Yes Man (which is a deadringer for the funnyman's 1997 Liar Liar) opened with $6.5M Friday and $6.6M Saturday in 3,434 theaters for what was a low $18.1M weekend since the weather did not improve (includes Sunday estimates). Can't Carrey find new material? ... Another risky move was Will Smith choosing this melodrama Seven Pounds for Sony with its downer story that reunites the star with his Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino. But the experiment produced Will's worst opening since 2001's Ali. Audiences for Seven Pounds this weekend were 55% female and 64% were aged 25 or older. It debuted to $5.3M Friday and $5.6M Saturday in 2,758 venues for a $16M weekend." (DeadlinwHollywoodDaily)

"The United States is aiming to send 20,000 to 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan before this summer, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Three thousand will be sent next month. Most of the troops will be sent to bolster struggling European forces in Southern Afghanistan .. Gen. David McKiernan said he hopes the additional troops will allow international forces to reach a 'tipping point' against the Taliban that will allow aid and development groups to do their work. At the same time, NATO forces will begin a strategy of reaching out to local tribal leaders, to enlist them in the fight against the Taliban. This is a central aspect of the "clear, hold, and build" strategy that now-CENTCOM Commander David Petraeus employed in Iraq." (Blogs.ForeignPolicy)

"The incoming Obama administration stands on a precipice in Afghanistan. Someday we may look back at the impending deployment of two U.S. army brigades to Afghanistan as we do President Lyndon B. Johnson’s sending the Marines ashore in South Vietnam — a fatal mistake. In that one step, Johnson traded a strategy of counterinsurgency — which arguably had a chance of winning, however slim — for the application of brute military force, which had none. Take it from a former Russian KGB general: Sending more American troops to Afghanistan is not the answer there, either. And he knows first-hand." (CQPOlitics)

"Fox Searchlight wrestled key victories out of the weekend box office for Mickey Rourke starrer 'The Wrestler' and awards favorite 'Slumdog Millionaire.''The Wrestler,' directed by Darren Aronofsky, posted an impressive per-screen average of $52,368 in its debut, grossing an estimated $209,474 from four locations. Cume on the pic, which opened Wednesday, is $294,980. Climbing up the top 10 chart to No. 8 was 'Slumdog Millionaire,' one of several specialty titles basking in the glow of multiple award nominations ..'We were selling out everywhere on both pics,' Searchlight's Sheila DeLoach said." (Variety)

"A year had passed since the theatrical release of Lucas’s gee-whiz space epic, and in that time Star Wars had become the highest-grossing movie in history as well as a cultural phenomenon with its very own lexicon and mythology. With a sequel still two years away from theaters, Lucas had been sold on the idea that a Star Wars holiday television special—to be broadcast on CBS the weekend before Thanksgiving, when Nielsen audiences were plentiful—would sustain interest in the franchise, move more toys off the shelves, and maybe even pick up some new fans who hadn’t seen the movie. Though Lucas would not be involved in the actual shooting of the special—Smith and Hemion would oversee that—he knew the tales he wanted to tell and planned to work with the show’s team of seasoned TV writers to develop his ideas into a viable script. For those who had been summoned, the prospect of collaborating with the father of the Force initially sounded like a sure bet. 'We were really excited, because, My God, this is an annuity—Star Wars! says Lenny Ripps, another writer who worked on the special. How could it lose?'" (VanityFair)