A Little of the Old In and Out

In: John McCain and George Bush? The Corsair would say, yeah, right, like two people who hate each other running together -- right. But the Village Voice sees it differently, shrewdly:

"June 9 is a key date in American politics. That's the day John McCain has to file if he's going to run for a fourth term as Arizona senator.

So far, all eyes have been focused on whether Kerry can persuade McCain to sign on as his veep on the Dem ticket. McCain has said over and over again he won't do it. But there's another possibility: If George Bush wanted to rescue himself from his current suicide dive, he could dump Cheney�whose negatives are substantial�and select McCain as his veep. If he did that, John Kerry would vanish without a trace."

and rumor has it McCain will not seek relection.

Out: Senfeld's private garage is finally ready; the Porsche's are no longer homeless, thanks be to God (The Corsair crosses himself). The guys at TheSmokinggun write, with the faintest ghost of a smaile:

"One of New York City's longest-running (and problem-plagued) construction projects has finally been completed. That's right, after five long years, Jerry Seinfeld's private Manhattan garage is finally ready to receive a handful of cars from the Porsche-loving comedian's pricey automobile collection.

"Seinfeld's multimillion-dollar renovation of a two-story building on West 83rd Street was completed late last month, according to an April 29 filing with the Department of Buildings. The 50-year-old performer purchased the property in March 1999 for $880,000 and almost immediately applied for demolition permits (the 16' x 52' building previously housed a plumbing & heating contractor). In what must now seem like wishful thinking, Seinfeld originally estimated the renovation at $500,000.

"According to Buildings permits, Seinfeld's garage will hold only five cars (three on the ground floor, two in the basement), though his rides will bunk in style."

Thank you Jerry, thank you for housing those homeless Porsche's.

Out: Pink "I'm Sorry For Fucking Someone Else, Baby" Diamonds. Charmed, I'm sure (The Corsair gives off long, drawn out averted gaze)

Anyhoo: Are Kobi and Vanessa secretly in the throes of splitting up? According to that significant cultural artifact The National Enquirer, the answer is that Vanessa is done with the expensive Kobi beef:

"Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa is secretly talking to one of Hollywood's most successful divorce lawyers, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

"And as the basketball great prepares to face his rape accuser in court, his wife has already been spending many nights away from home -- even when Kobe is in town!"

If this is the case, and if she is not gaining leverage of any kind, and if she is serious -- three big ifs -- then expect her to do it after the verdict.

In: Adam Moss' New York Magazine is definitely in, if you look, for example, at Matthew Flamm's laudatory article in Crain's:

"The recent food issue of New York magazine provided recipes for grilled mussels and black-pepper shrimp, and an introduction to the West Coast-inspired raw food craze. Typical stuff for the magazine's semiannual staple, which has long been a major draw for advertisers.

"But there was also something unusual about this particular food issue, which was the first under Adam Moss, the former New York Times Magazine editor who became New York's editor in chief in February. Unlike past issues, it carried no gossipy features about the trendiest new restaurants.

"Even more shocking, perhaps, the articles had substance, most notably one detailing the bitter food fight among the city's gourmet retailers.

"In his efforts to revive the faded weekly, Mr. Moss has been making gradual but steady changes. He has phased out mentions of young models canoodling with their boyfriends, and raised the overall tone of the stories, targeting upscale readers in their 30s and 40s who had been turned off by the youth-oriented, tabloid quality of the magazine under his predecessor."

While The Corsair will still studiously detail the canoodlings of the media eliter as well as the gaseous emissions of celebrities as well as the Vice Presidential sweepstakes and complex discussions of art, it is good, it is noble to see an editor try exclusively the route of the sober mind and still garner buzz (god help The Corsair, who would have a dozen hits if not for Ashton Kutscher's canoodles and Janet and Courtney's boob). Bravo, Adam Moss.

Out: The Prada retrial. According to British Vogue Daily:

"PATRIZIA REGGIANI, who was jailed in 1998 for ordering the murder of her estranged husband, Maurizio Gucci, is to be retried. Reggiani, who was nicknamed The Black Widow by the Italian press, was sentenced to 26 years in prison after hiring a hitman to kill her husband in March 1995 after a disagreement over her alimony payment. She has always maintained her innocence. Grandson of the founder of the Gucci empire, Maurizio was gunned down outside his Milan office in March 1995. Reggiani's daughter previously appealed for her mother's release on the grounds that her ability to reason had been affected by an earlier operation to remove a brain tumour. Her lawyer, Danilo Buongiorno, told Reuters that the new hearing would begin on July 6 in Mestre, northern Italy."

I thought this was an open and shut purse, I mean case.

In: A BiPartisan Prescription Drug Reimportation Bill in the Senate?

According to Geoff Earle in TheHill:

"A bipartisan group of lawmakers claims it has lined up the 60 votes needed to get a prescription-drug reimportation bill through the Senate, which some say could lead the White House to change its position on the controversial issue.

"The legislators are leaning on Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to call up their bill � which would allow for the reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada and selected other countries � before the July 4 recess, as the window for significant legislative activity narrows.

"'We have a very good time frame,' said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), after the group met with Frist in his Capitol office shortly before the Memorial Day recess. 'We would like during the next work period to have the Senate consider' the bill. �We think we have the votes to pass it,' he said.

"The Dorgan legislation has only 21 co-sponsors but has attracted bipartisan support. Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) are among the bill�s co-sponsors.

"Asked whether supporters could get 60 votes, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) replied, 'In the final analysis, I think we could.'

"Others participating in the meeting with Frist were Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Frist is hoping Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) will be able to move a bill through committee that Frist can call up through �regular order.�

"But Snowe warned that supporters were 'looking for a vehicle' that they could attach it to if leaders don�t call up freestanding legislation.

"Those who attended the meeting said Frist still harbors concerns over safety issues related to reimporting drugs from other countries. But Snowe said the bipartisan group has been able to address many of Frist�s concerns by revising the bill. 'We really did a phenomenal job in precluding many of the safety issues,' said Snowe.

"The White House strongly opposed a reimportation bill that passed the House last year. But Snowe said she didn�t believe the president would veto a measure that has picked up broad support. 'It has the dynamic and the momentum to pass this year,' Snowe said. 'It�s the one area of social policy we can really get done.'

"'The question now,' she added, 'is hopefully being able to convince [Frist] and others that this is the year to do it.'"

What's that quiet chuckling sound we hear? Oh, don't worry, it's just born-again moderate Trent Lott laughing at sticking it back to the Bush Administration for, like, the millionth time this Congressional session.

Out: Topic A with Tina Brown. According to Gawker.com's Henry the Intern:

"And finally, the editor's desk roundtable tackled 'The Day After Tomorrow.' Tina mentioned Dennis Quaid's 'furrowed brow,' but her favorite moment was when Jake Gyllenhaal made snowshoes out of a New York library chair: "Everything is about terror now" and can "be resolved with snowshoes." Or Gyllenhaal 'trying to get laid while the world is ending,' said comedienne Jessi Klein, who enjoyed the destruction of Los Angeles. Toure, of Rolling Stone, preferred the scene where Mexicans blocked fleeing Americans: 'Hell yeah, bring it on!' He thought 'this is not an environmental film, it's a 9/11 movie. . . just the chaos of it' was 'quite scary.' New York Times environmental reporter Andrew Revkin said hesitant environmentalists decided to embrace the film when they realized 'it's a $200 million ad' for their cause. Similarly, he said, 'the administration has been very worried about the movie' because 'it is going to bring this issue to people who never think about.' But Toure disagreed: global warming 'is not sexy at all!' Klein observed the irony of throngs of people seeing a film about climate change in air-conditioned theaters.

"Attorney Ed Hayes played the role of Gail Sheehy this week: make the roundtable look younger and more hip by comparison. Toure and Klein showed the benefits of an energetic, vibrant roundtable; they should be regulars with 'Topic A' all-star David Carr.

In: My former boss, Jason Calacanis, who is always in and ahead of the curve, gives a favorable verdict to the new G4 Network (Formerly Tech TV):

"I�m watching the G4 network, which is dedicated to video game, right now and I�m actually impressed.

"Anytime I�ve watched a show about video games before I�ve been bored out of my mind, but they have taken a very insider approach. For example, they are featuring an Alias video game and talking to the writers and directors of the TV show about the games they like and the integration of the story lines in the game and the TV show. It�s pretty slick and I�m getting the urge to go play Command and Conquer."