Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"KISS lead singer Gene Simmons called in to The Howard Stern Show Tuesday morning .. Howard Stern Show listeners could hear Gene Simmons beaming with pride through the phone after he pitched his new line of KISS-related products that will soon be adorning every corner of every Wal-Mart in the country (Ed Note: WTF?!). Gene Simmons is known for hocking KISS-related products on the internet. Simmons admitted to Howard Stern that he had sold his own kidney stone on eBay for $15,000. Gene Simmons had plenty to say about David Letterman's recent blackmail debacle as well. When Howard Stern asked the KISS lead singer if he had ever been blackmailed, Gene Simmons replied nonchalantly: 'It happens all the time.' Simmons stated that he receives regular requests from women claiming to be former lovers stating that they have his illegitimate child, demanding large sums of money to keep quiet. His solution? Simmons contacts the blackmailers and tells them that he's thrilled and ready and waiting to set up a DNA test to confirm his paternity. After that, the sneaky KISS-er never hears from them again." (Examiner)



"I headed last night to the party at The Standard for Good Hair, hosted by Andrew Saffir's Cinema Society and Target. Despite fab faces like stars Chris Rock, Nia Long and Ice-T, Bevy Smith, Guy Oseary, Genevieve Jones, Olivia Thirlby, Zoe Kravitz, Joey Jalleo, Veronica Webb, Daniel Benedict, Jennifer Missoni, Cator Sparks, Fern Mallis and Rachel Zoe in the crowd, and despite the curvy combo of Ice's girl Coco and Kanye's woman Amber Rose (in shades, natch), all eyes were on Gabourey Sidibe, the soon-to-be-super-duper-famous star of Precious. Sidibe and her Precious co-star Mo'nique will both be nominated for Academy Awards and Ms. Mo'nique will take home that Oscar next March." (Peter Davis/Paper Magazine)



"Wild Things is a stupendous achievement. (Spike) Jonze and Dave Eggers’ adapted Sendak’s story—so spare it seemed untranslatable—about Max, an angry boy in a wolf suit who escapes in his imagination to a place where he becomes king of sharp-toothed monsters, gets lonely and returns home. In the film, when Max gets to the place where the Wild Things are, Sendak’s colorfully drawn, silent monsters have taken on distinct personalities. The giant monster suits and CGI facial expressions are impressive, but the vibrant characters—a brainy bird with Chris Cooper’s voice, an independent redhead voiced by Lauren Ambrose—make the film come alive. The dominant monster, now named Carol, sounds tough yet feels as insecure and left-out as Max, and there is an extra resonance because his voice is James Gandolfini’s. 'It was definitely early on that I got excited about him,' Jonze said about casting Tony Soprano. 'I wanted somebody who had a huge presence—charismatic, able to dominate a room,' yet 'who was very sensitive, whose emotions were right under the surface.'" (TheDailyBeast)



"I went down to Michael’s, which was jammed and sounded like a dull roar, to lunch with Caroline Graham, in from Los Angeles, and Dereck and Beverly Joubert, National Geographic photographers from Botswana who are in town for a booksigning of their book 'Eye of the Leopard' last night at Rizzoli. The Jouberts are South African but have lived in Botswana for many years .. Those who know the Jouberts’ work already know what interesting lives they lead compared to us Americans and/or city dwellers. They are also involved deeply in a 'Big Cats' initiative launched by the National Geographic 'First Step: Halting Decline of Lions.' Two millennia ago there were 1.5 million lions roaming the earth. Today across the continent of Africa there are perhaps 20,000 lions, and the numbers are declining fast. We’re their predators naturally, and we’ve done them in .. Dereck Joubert told me that with the extinction of the lions, the entire ecosystem of Africa will collapse. He said there are 4,000 in zoos across this country although every one is infected with FIV which is an animal strain similar to HIV. He said that if even one of them is taken ill with it, all of them will die." (NYSocialDiary)



"TINSLEY Mortimer's reality show is not living up to its billing. The CW project claims to 'lift the curtain on New York's most talked-about Park Avenue Princess and her young, elite society friends' -- but we hear none of Mortimer's friends want anything to do with it. Her half-brother Peter Davis said over the weekend on Facebook that he has 'zero interest in playing a warped, twisted version of myself on television.' We also hear that Zani Gugelmann and Dani Stahl turned down starring roles. 'The only person definitely on board is [sister] Dabney Mercer,' says our source. A message left for producer Andrew Glassman was not returned." (PageSix)



"Life was cyclical, Mr. Letterman had learned. Decades earlier, he had moved to Los Angeles with his first wife, Michelle, to try and make it in comedy. His career took off, and his marriage fell apart. As it turned out, comedy clubs put Mr. Letterman in too close proximity with too many beach girls from San Diego State. 'It was embarrassing and superficial,' Mr. Letterman later said of his behavior, according to The Late Shift, by Bill Carter. 'It was just me being a dork: Hey, young girls!'And, now, here we were again. This time around, just to spice things up, life, that bitch, had given things a new twist—namely, the ominous arrival of a man named Joe Halderman with a big ego, a quick temper and a graying goatee, who came armed with photographs, emails and (in a retro plot twist Jane Austen would approve of) diary entries allegedly detailing Mr. Letterman’s furtive indulgences. 'The whole thing is surreal,' said Mr. Letterman on the Late Show. 'Normally when I’m shaken down for money, it’s my relatives.'" (Observer)



"Unlike the United States, which does not do much business with Iran, Russia has important economic stakes there, which it hopes to increase. While Moscow doesn’t want Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, it doesn’t want to impose sanctions that would damage Russian economic interests in Iran either. What Russia wants, then, is to cooperate just enough with the United States to convince Washington that it is working with it responsibly (and perhaps obtain some concession for doing so) while at the same time preserving its important relationship with Iran. And as for Russia encouraging Israel to cooperate with the IAEA, sign the NPT, and give up its nuclear weapons: Moscow could hardly do otherwise at a time when the Obama administration has intensified the longstanding U.S. call for Israel to do all these things. But perhaps unlike some in the Obama administration, Moscow knows full well that Israel is highly unlikely to dismantle its nuclear arsenal. Israel’s position, then, allows Moscow to argue that Iran cannot be expected to make progress on nuclear disarmament unless Israel does. Israel’s likely refusal to do so, then, is a convenient excuse for Moscow not to seriously join with the United States to push Iran on this. The Obama administration is trying to get Iran, Russia, and Israel to all change their policies. But while Iran, Russia, and Israel do not like one another’s policies, none of them is willing to change its own." (MiddleEastStrategy/Harvard)



"Warner Bros. has set RZA to star alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in 'Due Date,' the Todd Phillips-directed comedy. RZA joins a cast that also includes Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx in the story of a man with a mismatched travel companion who races home in hopes of arriving before his wife delivers their first child. Phillips is producing through his Green Hat banner with Daniel Goldberg. Scott Budnick is exec producer. WB is partnered with Legendary Pictures on the film, and Susan Downey is exec producing. RZA's also attached to Paul Haggis' 'The Next Three Days' for Lionsgate and is scoring producer Robbie Brenner's film 'Warriors Way' for Relativity Media." (Variety)



"It was clear that Michelle Obama was partial to Rothko when she chose that daring dress, with its swathes of red and black, for election night. Now there's proof: two Rothkos have been loaned to the White House since President Obama came to power. The full list of works borrowed from museums for the White House is copied at the end of this post. What can we extrapolate from it? Rothko is not the only modern artist to make the cut. The Obamas have also selected work by Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Josef Albers and Sam Francis. These are the great giants of postwar art, quintessentially and ineluctably American, yet, at times, acerbic critics on the national condition. It seems clear the Obamas have a personal liking for abstract expressionism, but they are also projecting a clear message: they are thoughtful, comfortable with abstraction, aesthetically sophisticated. And patriotic. Unsurprisingly – and pleasingly – the Obamas have also chosen to hang works by African-American artists, including two works by Glenn Ligon, a selection of William H Johnsons, and a piece by the African-American abstract expressionist, Alma Thomas. Less predictably, there is work from Native American artists and makers too, including by the 20th-century painter Leon Polk Smith, and 69-year-old ceramicist Jeri Redcorn. And so the image projection piles up: to modern and sophisticated add inclusive and multicultural. There's a sense of an attempt at gender balance: included are works by 20th-century sculptor Louise Nevelson and the New Mexico based Susan Rothenberg." (Guardian via TheAwl)



"'It worked,' as the leaders of the Group of 20 leading high-income and emerging countries claimed after their summit in Pittsburgh. One indication is the upward revision of the IMF’s forecasts since July: world output is forecast to shrink 'only' 1.1 per cent this year and then grow 3.1 per cent next year. This is 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points better than forecast in July. In the 12 months from the fourth quarter of 2009, high-income economies are forecast to expand 1.7 per cent and those of emerging Asia 7.8 per cent, with China up 9.2 per cent. We must not forget what such a recovery would mean: few economies are likely to see a fall in unemployment or in excess capacity over the next year. Moreover, the recovery is hugely dependent on the surge in government spending and the inventory cycle, particularly in the US (see chart). As the IMF stresses, 'the main risk is that private demand in advanced economies remains very weak.' Despite the recovery in confidence, the financial system remains damaged. Private sector deleveraging has barely begun. The rise in savings rates in countries such as the US and UK may also prove permanent. So growth might weaken when the inventory bounce and fiscal boost have worked through." (Martin Wolfe/FT)



"One of the most talked about films of the year had its world premiere in London's Leicester Square last night. Model and actress Lily Cole, who wore a full-length tiered Chanel dress adorned with jewels and shells, said she was pleased with how The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was completed after Heath Ledger's death. 'I feel extremely proud of how everyone managed to finish it (despite) such a huge obstacle. I feel really honoured we managed to take all the energy Heath put into it and show it so people can see it. At the same time I obviously still feel sad.' Director Terry Gilliam choked up as he admitted it was 'hard work' promoting the film in the memory of its late star, Heath Ledger. Ledger died of an accidental overdose while making the film, and his part was later finished by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law." (Thisislondon)



"'It stinks like my feet,' sniffed one French editor upon walking up the plywood stairs of the Grand Palais this morning ... Claudia Schiffer sat down the row from Rihanna, who is beating out Katy Perry in the race for this season's ubiquitor. Top editors gawked at Karl's latest concept--a massive barnyard constructed in the middle of the palace, complete with a sheltered haystack (from which the models would soon emerge) decked out with hanging lanterns. Models strutted out in wooden platform clogs and beigey tweed suits, accessorized with the occasional straw basket bag and rosary 'tattoo' around the thigh." (Fashionweekdaily)



"There's an unofficial book club in the White House these days, George Stephanopoulos reported late last month, and the manuscript in question could not be more pertinent. As the Obama administration rethinks its strategy in Afghanistan, officials are turning to Gordon M. Goldstein's Lessons in Disaster -- an account of analogous moments of decision in the Vietnam War. And though most historical comparisons are approximations at best, the resemblance between those crucial Vietnam inflection points and today are uncanny: Casualties are rising, public opposition is growing, the host government's legitimacy and effectiveness is in doubt, and the U.S. commander in the field is calling for more troops to stave off defeat. Surely, if Obama has a Vietnam moment, it will come in Afghanistan." (ForeignPolicy)



"The Museum of the City of New York's annual New York After Dark gala may not have been in the actual museum this year (heading up to 105th Street is quite a trek for some chicsters), but the Plaza Hotel had its own sort of exhibit for the evening. Gorgeous mannequin types draped in furs stood on platforms above the formally-dressed crowds. 'Does this party have a theme?' wondered one partygoer upon entry; it's Fendi, darling! The Lagerfeld-helmed brand sponsored the evening along with the Plaza, which meant that luxurious fur toppers abounded. (Désolée, PETA.) Inside, fashion flock members Hamish Bowles (fresh from Paris, and still sporting that mustache), Amy Fine Collins, Douglas Hannant, Mark Badgley and James Mischka mixed with social types like Helen Lee Schifter, Jennifer Creel, and Zani Gugelmann while a director's council of Phoebe Gubelmann, Cynthia Lufkin, Shafi Roepers, Allison Rockefeller, Calvert Moore, and Mark Gilbertson presided over the festivities." (Fashionweekdaily)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



The Corsair is, to be sure, a "Pants Not Required" zone. (image via thecobrasnake)



Luke 21: 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man DJing in a cloud with power and great glory. (image via thecobrasnake)



"Borborygmus was their laughter ..." (image via thecobrasnake)

Why Can't Obama Do Populist?



Why does President Obama have such a hard time finding and maintaining the Populist voice? The President's enemies -- the Glenn Becks, the Limbaughs, the teabaggers and Town Hollerers -- employ their shrill tones to sometimes devastating effect, eating away at his good will. During the 2008 campaign, there were questions as to whether or not now-President Obama was of the Kerry-Dukakis-Adlai Stevenson school of the Democratic Party, or of the JFK side. These questions seemed to have been answered after Obama won the nomination, and then the Presidency. Ted and Caroline Kennedy's imprimatur came at a critical juncture of his campaign. The Adlai Stevenson school generally doesn't win elections, it has been argued. Stevensonians tend get hammered by the GOP, they do not fight back effectively, and they tend to get separated from their "Reagan Democrat" constituency.

Adlai Stevenson, the "last of the beautiful losers," was of a Progressive, intellectual temperament. His "type" is fundamentally incapable of expressing Populism. When it does, in moments of political exigency, it does so at maximum discomfort. Populism is, to this type, a dirty, low and common affair. The Stevenson School by contrast exudes a certain bloodlessness (blue-bloodedness?), but it is alien to contemporary American politics, more "European" -- or, worse, vaguely French -- than on the ground in Scranton. Thomas Edison was not a Harvard lawyer; the inventor of the Cotton Gin was probably not a Princeton man. Ingenuity, the pioneering spirit and gumption run through the American bloodstream. Stevensonians don't win American elections unless they do some intellectual cross-dressing, engineering brush-clearing photo-ops. That's *American.* Change, in American politics, has always needed a Populist argument, a visceral appeal, in order to happen.

Reagan Democrats -- of the white, working-class, Archie Bunker variety -- have deep resentments towards people who work in "intellectual" professions. They believe more often than not in blood -- as in their white ethnicity -- and sweat, as in of their brow (The Corsair pops a fucking can of Schlitz). In many ways, Reagan Democrats don't see what "intellectuals" do as real work (Hence the supreme irony of "commentator" Pat Buchanan's appeal). It is the work of the mind, invisible, thinky.

And thinky doesn't make for stinky. In other words, if one doesn't need to take a shower after working, then is it really work? they argue, pragmatically. Pragmatic-realism is the state of being in how much of the American middle class raises their families. Idealism, in their Wisdom, is a luxury for the rich, the young and the foolish. This is why Populist anger towards the financial class bailouts is potentially deadly. The "Hah-vid" lawyer, the man -- or woman -- who has never worked with their hands, gotten backache from standing up all day, grit under the fingernails, has a college education and advanced degrees. Those are the enemy.

The bailouts of the financial sector only strengthened the argument of the Reagan Democrats saving the day -- yet again. It is not enough that the Reagan Democrats have to feign a smile when waitressing or doormanning for the overclass, but their taxes must now save the economy from their colossal fuck-ups. That is, if you'll forgive this blogger, unbelievably unfair. Reagan Democrats dislike intellectuals primarily because they themselves are essentially emotional creatures. Emotionally-oriented personality types have trouble understanding intellectually-oriented people and vice-versa. Appeals to the resentments of Reagan Democrats -- and their lower natures -- have always been entertained by cynical politicians. Those appeals, when done right, are quite effective. The "intellectuals" rule the world, make all the money, while the emotionally-based, the salt-of-the-earth, who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, have to bail them out.

Again.

Reagan Democrats are essentially white working-class voters who are angry that they are not, in many cases, living the lives of their parents. They have fallen behind. They are not living the American Dream that they were told that they -- as white ethnics -- would inherit. Reagan Democrats blame Latinos for stealing their taxes; Reagan Democrats for the crime in their neighborhoods and affirmative action; Reagan Democrats blame "pointy-headed Liberals" -- often code for The Jews -- for enacting policies that are overburdening the white man. And now there's a Black Man in the White House! (One can almost hear Archie Bunker spit up his domestic suds)

Hillary Clinton made a cynical appeal to precisely these voters when she realized -- after South Carolina -- that she was not going to get the black vote. Who had done more for African-Americans than the Clintons, they argued. And it is probably that rejection by African-Americans, upon meeting the real deal, that made it easier for the Clinton's to embrace their inner Bubba. Because nothing spells good-ole-boy like a Yalie lawyer Power couple (Averted Gaze).

Hillary perfected this strategic pitch pretty much after Barack Obama had secured a prohibitive amount of the party delegates. Still, Clinton, before her defeat, revealed a weakness now-President Obama has with those Reagan Democrats. Obama, in the general election, was lucky that his opponent, John McCain, doesn't draw particularly visceral enthusiasm among the Reagan Democrats. There is, to be sure, a racial component to this. But there is also the sheer fact that Obama does not do populism well. He did so in Minnesota on Health Care, but the efforts were taxing, and he reverted back to the high-toned lawyerly-intellectual approach (Obama's natural state).

President Obama needs to get in touch with his Populist side. I know he idolizes his fellow Illinois President Abraham Lincoln, a pre-Stevensonian Stevenson, who always appealed to the higher natures of the American voter. We are, in many ways, a weaker people now than then. Our attention spans are smaller. And while The Great Recession is certainly not the Civil War, there is a palpable sense of decline about the United States. Whole sectors of the economy are shrinking at an astonishing clip. Unemployment is on the rise; mortgage foreclosures are on the rise; tent cities are on the rise. Appeals to intellect are laudable, but they may fall on deaf ears in these dark times. It is easier to appeal to Man's better nature when his stomach is full. For when a Man is hungry he is more tempted by his inner demons -- and those silver-tongued populists who speak in their name -- than by his better Angels.

President Woodrow Wilson, another pre-Stevensonian Stevensonian, found his Populist voice far too late. As he campaigned in a whirlwind tour around the country to bring around American popular opinion to ratifying the League of Nations, he was struck down by Fate. It was only after the incalculable suffering wrought by the Second World War that American came around to the necessary foreign entanglements of the UN and international law, ideas that the now deceased Wilson had championed a generation previous. America learns; American wisdom ultimately prevails, but sometimes it does so late, at great cost. President Obama would do well to keep that lesson of American History in mind in pursuing Health Care.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"PRINCESS Caroline of Monaco, married to husband No. 3 for 10 years, is now separated. He, Prince Ernst of Hanover, is already moving on. Or at least forward. He's seeing Iranian heiress Maryam Sachs, who split from furniture designer husband Rolf Sachs after 24 years. Only last month Mr. & Mrs. Sachs, together, attended a big London society wedding (and who knows how long that couple stays coupled). He then moved out of their Fulham Road house. It's called Musical Spouses." (CindyAdams)



"Lionsgate has partnered with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films to acquire rights to the November 2008 GQ Magazine article 'Will You Be My Black Friend?' The article, a humorous account by senior correspondent Devin Friedman about his clumsy attempt to make friends with people of color, will be developed as a star vehicle for Chris Rock. Following a cocktail party epiphany that his entire social circle is the same color as he, the white writer made an unabashed attempt to make black friends, down to soliciting prospective pals in a Craigslist ad. The journo discovers that race aside, it is very difficult to make meaningful friends later in life." (Variety)



"Dustin Diamond called in to promote his new book, 'Behind the Bell,' about his days as 'Screech' on 'Saved by the Bell.' Howard asked about Dustin's bizarre behavior on 'Celebrity Fit Club,' so Dustin explained: 'If I can out-crazy Gary Busey, I've done my acting job well.' Dustin then broke down some of the revelations in his book – like his co-stars sleeping with everyone but him: 'I started going for the extras.' Of the on-set 'Saved by the Bell' pairings, Dustin revealed that both Mario Lopez and Mark Paul Gosselaar had banged Tiffany Amber Theissen – but only Mark also tagged Elizabeth Berkeley. Howard read a description of Tiffany from Dustin's book: 'Saved by the Bell's set whore and Hollywood's pass-around girl.' Dustin said Mark was a big douche back in the day: 'He actually grew up and mellowed out.' Dustin said Lark Voorhees had also changed since the show, citing an incident in which she flinched anytime a man spoke to her at a DVD commentary taping: 'My thought is, Ok – who's beaten the dog?' Howard speculated that the book would prevent Dustin's castmates from ever speaking to him again, and Robin laughed: 'It doesn't sound like he was hearing from them before.' Howard's last question was about Dustin's claim that he'd slept with 2000 women, but Dustin dodged: 'I'm a storyteller.'" (HowardSternShow)



"Shot by an Israeli videogame designer named Oren Peli over the course of a couple of years—with unknown actors, in his house—this scary little movie has been attracting the kind of buzz that inevitably leads people to invoke the mother of all cheapo scary movies, The Blair Witch Project. (That 1999 film had a budget of $60,000 and went on to gross a stunning $250 million worldwide.) It’s remarkable that a major studio—Paramount—is distributing such a tiny film, though that may say as much about the state of Paramount as it does about the movie. What’s also remarkable is that Paranormal Activity has attracted the attention of a Wall Street analyst: On Monday, Rich Greenfield of Pali Research posted an item about the film under the headline, 'Scariest Movie of All Time?' The film may not be that, but it sure is off to a great start. Last weekend, it played midnight screenings in 33 locations to sellout crowds." (TheDailyBeast)



"Paul McCartney got the best seats in the house for daughter Stella’s Spring 2010 Fashion Show at Paris Fashion Week (Why didn’t she show in London, by the way?), along with Charlotte Casiraghi (aka Grace Kelly’s glamorous Granddaughter) and Gwenyth Paltrow. Just goes to show that you can be one of the top fashion designers in the world, and your Dad is still going to be your number one fan." (Guestofaguest)



" I was also committed to a movie screening of the 1957 MGM classic 'Designing Woman' with Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. Miss Bacall was also in attendance, along with her pal Rex Reed. The evening was hosted by Charles and Clo Cohen. After the screening, Rex Reed interviewed Miss Bacall (her friends call her Betty). She’s a formidable character if you see her out and about in New York. And at times, that’s putting it politely since she’s not one for small talk with strangers. I’ve seen her at theatre, at Zabars, at Swifty’s, many places because she gets around. I’ve never met her and I wouldn’t go up and introduce myself. It makes me laugh to think of it but that’s the vibe the lady puts out there. And it’s as effective as her performances: you believe her. Newlyweds Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall at their wedding reception at the farm of novelist Louis Bromfield in Mount Vernon, Ohio. January 1, 1945. So as a result I get to look. Last night with Rex Reed – who is obviously a good friend and unquestionably a great fan – Miss Bacall was that forthright personality with that voice that remains the lure it had on the psyche's ear when she first made an appearance on screen at age 19." (NYSocialDiary)



"Fast National ratings for Monday, Oct. 5, 2009. 'Dancing with the Stars' and 'Castle' both saw their ratings grow on Monday, giving ABC the night's biggest audience by a good margin. FOX held onto the demographic lead even though 'House' took a dip. ABC won the night with 15.7 million viewers and a 10.1 rating/16 share in households. CBS (11.1 million, 7.2/11) came in second, a little ahead of FOX (10.6 million, 6.2/9). NBC was a distant fourth with 5.1 million viewers and a 3.3/5. The CW (2.1 million, 1.5/2) brought up the rear. FOX grabbed first in the adults 18-49 demo with a 4.1 rating, beating out CBS (3.8) and ABC (3.6). Neither NBC, 1.8, nor The CW, 1.0, made much noise." (Zap2It)



"Each season, one international editor manages to capture the front row's intrigue, and this season, the woman in question is Anya Ziourova. The veteran stylist is currently serving as acting fashion director for Russian Tatler, arguably one of the hottest relaunches of 2008. Ziourova worked as a freelance stylist for the last five years before finding a home with Condé Nast International, for whom she also frequently spearheads fashion features and covers in the Indian and Chinese editions of Vogue. The Daily caught up with the oft-photographed sensation while driving from the Stella McCartney show to a re-see at the Ritz." (Fashionweekdaily)

What Does Michael Bloomberg Know That We Don't?



David and Goliath; Karen Silkwood versus Kerr-McGee; Thompson versus Bloomberg?

Well, not quite.

But the sheer ubiquity and increasingly shrill tone of Bloomberg's ad campaign against Bill Thompson, his opponent, is a wonder to behold -- awe-inspiring -- especially to a New York-based media observed like myself.

While Comptroller Bill Thompson is an affable New York career pol with an impressive pedigree, he has never particularly distinguished himself in the gladiatorial fundament that is New York City politics. New Yorkers -- after the well-meaning but essentially ineffective mayoralties of David Dinkins and Abe Beame -- have kind of inured ourselves to the idea that affable career public servants may not have what it takes to govern this fundamentally unruly city of cacophanous ambitions and go-go kinetic energy. In recent history Ruth Messinger, Freddy Ferrer and Mark Green -- affable public servants, all -- have been neglected by the electorate in their various quests for the Mayoralty of New York, the third toughest elective job in American politics. In an ordinary electoral head-to-head, keeping those facts in mind, Michael Bloomberg would probably have made short work of Bill Thompson.

But this is not the average-ordinary political season. Bill Thompson is the second African-American candidate to get the Democratic nod for the Mayoralty. And with the demographics of New York such that roughly a quarter of the electorate is African-American (and a little more than a quarter Latino), that could, potentially, be a problem for a former white Republican in an overwhelmingly majority Democrat city. Bloomberg, a billionaire media mogul who is deeply admired by his peers, has a lot to lose in this race. He has all the advantages -- money, incumbency, name recognition -- but for some reason he is spending his fortune like a drunken sailor on shore leave on media ad buys.

What does Michael Bloomberg know that we don't?

Billionaires -- Teresa Heinz, Ross Perot -- have a touch of the ermine-clad authoritarian in their personality make up. It is not inconceivable that that dictatorial trait was always there, laying dormant. Or it may just be that "The Boss" character trait is the ultimate consequence of the needs of attaining such fabulous wealth and the billionaire trappings of obsequious servants, courtiers and underlings constantly below foot (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment).

Most believe Bloomberg will win? How could he not? He is on track to spend between $75-$100 million. He outspends Thompson, already, by a 9:1 ratio. But there is an anti-incumbent mood in the City. Does the diminished value of incumbency -- and Bloomberg's reversal of the electorates wishes -- spell an uphill battle for the billionaire mogul? The vast amounts of money he is spending would suggest as much, or at least argue for a certain political paranoia (a state of being, incidentally, not altogether alien to billionaires or dictators). Yesterday's Sunday NY Times story highlights the degree to which Bloomberg's controversial path to a third term is alienating voters, effectively putting "a ceiling on good will toward the mayor.”


Again: What does Michael Bloomberg know that we don't.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Sony knocked out its competition this weekend with a one-two punch as 'Zombieland' took $25 million at 3,036 and 3D toon 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' dropped to the second spot in its third frame with $16.7 million at 2,977 playdates. Disney's 3D double-bill release of 'Toy Story' and 'Toy Story 2' was third at the B.O. with $12.5 million at 1,745. At $7.4 million, Warner Bros. comedy 'The Invention of Lying,' starring Ricky Gervais, narrowly inched out the second week of Disney's 'Surrogates,' which grossed $7.3 million. Drew Barrymore's directing debut 'Whip It' disappointed with $4.85 million, tying with Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story.'" (Variety)



"Nat Rothschild, son of Lord Rothschild, threw a bash last year in his luxurious Greenwich Village townhouse in Saif Qaddafi’s honor. Qaddafi was dressed like a pimp, with a Hollywood-like two-day growth and a manner to match. My first and only question was, 'Are you for Abbas or Hamas?' 'Hamas,' he said and then walked imperiously away. The sons all live like billionaires. They fly in very large private jets, hire large yachts for their Mediterranean holidays, and are always guarded by battalions of security men who stop traffic when the boys decide to take in the sights. Which are mainly nightclubs flush with Eastern European hookers. Although Qaddafi remains mercurial, menacing, and murderous, people such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have embraced him of late thanks to—yes, you guessed it—Libya’s untapped oil reserves. Big Oil has declared Qaddafi a good guy, and when the oil companies speak, politicians are all ears." (Takimag)



"'You cannot take pictures of Lindsay!' So commanded Lohan's bodyguard Saturday night at Le Baron, where Chrissie Miller hosted a party for her Sophmore line that, coincidentally or not, drew pretty much everyone in town. Yes, Lohan was here--but what the bodyguard didn't know was that the woman avec the cell phone was merely showing a friend photos of her baby." (FashionweekDaily)



"For those familiar with Brazil's athletic history, today's decision seems only natural. The country breathes sports -- everything from Nascar racing, to volleyball, to soccer, to martial arts. And more importantly, perhaps, to the International Olympic Committee, the country has a long history of hosting international sporting events. In 1963, for example, Brazil hosted the Fourth Pan American games in São Paulo, drawing in thousands of competitors and spectators. The Pan American Games were once again hosted in 2007 in Rio, providing even more recent evidence of Brazil's commitment and ability to host international games. Wisely, however, Lula did not rely on this culture and history alone to propel his bid. In recent years, the president seems to have been taking notes on how other countries have increased their odds. Among the lessons he garnered was the importance of physically attending the presentation and vote to stake his claim." (ForeignPolicy)



"On the eve of the Democratic Party’s greatest triumph—when, after decades of pangs and false alarms, universal health care has finally crowned—a coterie of powerful liberals go ahead and hand a real bullet to Republicans who have otherwise been firing blanks. The limousine liberal, that Democrat who puts privilege before principle and the status in status quo, is back, with a cocktail of issues (pedophilia, Hollywood, France) so volatile that Roger Ailes could not have scripted it better himself. As the Democratic Party makes its final push for a health-care overhaul, some of its members are reminding Middle America why sometimes it’s so easy to hate the left. For this, we can thank Roman Polanski. You could pave a boulevard in Los Angeles with the names of his apologists: Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Weinstein, Martin Scorsese, and Woody Allen, among others. Journalists joined in—Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum, Nation editor Katrina van den Heuvel (who backed off a bit when called on her stand by Katha Pollitt)—as did big-name authors like Salman Rushdie and Paul Auster. Even Washington advocates got into the act: “My personal thoughts are let the guy go,' said Peg Yorkin, founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation." (TheDailyBeast)



"Joel and Ethan Coen’s 'A Serious Man' found itself high atop the specialty box office this weekend, scoring the year’s third best limited debut. According to weekend estimates, the highly acclaimed 'Man' grossed $251,510 from just six theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis, averaging $41,918. Those numbers put the Focus Features release behind only 'Sunshine Cleaning' and 'Capitalism: A Love Story' in terms of ‘09 debuts, and places it in line the debuts of some of the Coens’ most financially successful films. While last year’s 'Burn After Reading' debuted incomparably (and potently) on 2,651 screens, both 2007’s 'No Country For Old Men' and 2000’s 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' had limited debuts, the former averaging $43,797 on 28 screens and the latter $39,020 from 5 screens." (IndieWIRE)



"President Obama is a foreign policy realist with a dash of idealism. He campaigned as a politician willing to talk to our enemies. Any one who doubts the president's use of "smart power" need only look to how he reversed American policy of the European missile shield to the delight of the often obstructionist Russia. Obama's brand of realism is a corrective to the neoconservatism that prevailed for the last eight years. Still, it is surprising that a Democrat President is pushing to postpone a meeting with the Dalai Lama until after his summit with Hu Jintao." (Ron Mwangaguhunga/AirAmerica)



"I had a boyfriend, Steve Gerbson, who was a really good cameraman, DP, producer, director. He said, How much money do you have? I had exactly $30,000 -- no credit cards, nothing else. He said, 'Okay, we'll do a special.' I said, "These specials are like hundreds of thousands of dollars." He said, 'Don't worry, we'll do a really good special, but you'll have to learn to produce and direct and edit because we can't afford extra people.' Andy had just died at that time, and I was feeling fearless. I said, 'Let's go, let's do it' ... I knew Cosby a little bit from standup. This was his year -- his new show was number one, cover of Time magazine. My friends thought I was insane, but he said yes. And then Letterman and Dr. Ruth and all these great people agreed to be on it. My good friend Tom Waits gave me a song. I had the greatest opening. And I had an act that had been honed for 13 years. You know, that's like a diamond cutter who takes 12 years to cut every facet on one bracelet. It's as good as you can make it .. We put together the best show ever; I took it up to both HBO and Showtime in L.A., and they both said no. I had always said to Steve, 'They don't like women, and they certainly don't like me.' And he always said, 'You're just crazy.' But when I came home and told him what happened, he said, "You're right, I believe you now. It's women, and it's personal. What do you want to do now?' I said, 'I'm done.' I wanted to go on the road for one more year to earn enough to pay everyone who had worked on the special, and that was gonna be it ... I was on the road for 10 months. My special was collecting dust on my living room shelf next to a copy of 'When Bad Things Happen to Good People.' And then Steve heard that Showtime had a regime change. We always knew if younger hipper guys came in, they'd get me. The new head of programming was Peter Chernin." (Elayne Boosler/TheWrap)

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"The process began with the creation of the White House office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport in February. The office has a broader brief than winning the Olympic bid for Chicago; its stated goal is to promote Olympic values and promote youth participation in athletics. But its most important mission—spurred by several people with strong ties to senior White House staff—was to ensure that the U.S. put the same kind of high-level political muscle behind the American bid for the games that other countries around the world did. That support found its strongest voice in Valerie Jarrett, who heads the White House Olympic office, and is both a close friend to the Obamas and the president's senior adviser. Jarrett had once worked for Mayor Daley in Chicago, and recruited Michelle Obama to work alongside her there. So it made perfect sense in the original plan for the First Lady and Jarrett to represent the White House in Copenhagen. As the president said just two weeks ago on the South Lawn of the White House, 'I would make the case in Copenhagen personally, if I weren't so firmly committed to making real the promise of quality, affordable health care for every American. But the good news is I'm sending a more compelling superstar to represent the city and country we love, and that is our First Lady, Michelle Obama.' Within a week, that position was beginning to change as Mayor Daley pressed his case for a presidential pitch, which would put the country’s leader alongside his global counterparts." (TheDailyBeast)



"Sony grabbed the two top boxoffice rungs Friday, as action comedy 'Zombieland' stalked an estimated $9.4 million in its first day and the distributor's leggy 3D animated feature "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" served up $3.7 million. The 'Zombieland' tally was on the lower end of prerelease expectations, with the Woody Harrelson starrer now challenged to reach a forecasted range for its opening of $25 million-$30 million. But 'Meatballs' looks headed for another meaty session and totes cumulative domestic boxoffice of $69.3 million through 15 days in release. Elsewhere in the daily pecking order, Disney may not have a studio chief pending a successor to the recently ousted Dick Cook, but two of its films figured among Friday's top five boxoffice performers." (TheHollywoodReporter)



"For the intensely private Mr. Letterman, the revelations, which resulted from a bizarre extortion attempt, are sure to be extremely embarrassing, especially as he tries to extend his lead in the late-night contest. 'I have had sex with women who work for me on this show,' he told his audience on Thursday night, calling himself
'creepy.' He added that he hoped 'to protect my job.' More seriously, they raised questions for both his company and CBS about whether his actions constituted sexual harassment or at least abuse of a power relationship over employees. A central figure in the case — one of the women who did have a sexual relationship with Mr. Letterman, according to representatives of the show — is Mr. Letterman’s longtime personal assistant, Stephanie Birkitt, who also often appeared on the air. The sexual relationships had ended before Mr. Letterman was married in March, a Worldwide Pants executive said. For CBS, the episode is doubly embarrassing. The network has been put in a precarious position of trying to steer clear of fallout from some highly questionable activities engaged in by its biggest star, who is experiencing his biggest surge in popularity (and ratings) in years." (NYTimes)



"Last night Dollhouse slipped to a series low 0.8/3 with adults 18-49 and averaged 2.1 million viewers. Night’s full details coming soon. Sure, it was a very slow Friday for broadcast where the night’s highest rated show with adults 18-49, Medium, pulled only a 1.8 rating with adults 18-49 .. Last night Medium averaged 7.719 million in preliminary numbers. But that’s not good news for Dollhouse. And sure, Syfy airing Stargate Universe (we will hopefully see the numbers for it later today, if not, I’m sure we’ll see them Monday) couldn’t have helped, but dropping below a 1.0 can’t be what FOX had in mind with its lower expectations for Friday. And people bailed on Dollhouse out of ‘Till Death! The half hour viewer numbers for FOX just got worse each half hour between 8p-10p (2.42M, 2.29M, 2.19M, 1.99M). FOX didn’t edge The CW by much on the night in either viewers or adults 18-49, and The CW’s night included an hour of an encore of America’s Next Top Model." (TVBytheNumbers)

Was Letterman's Leftish Lean Influenced By The Extortion Plot?



Recently, David Letterman has been leaning leftish. This is not particularly surprising as Letterman's Great Moments in Presidential Speeches were howlers during the 2008 election season. And his feud with Sarah Palin was the stuff of late-night and political folklore. But Letterman, a Hoosier, has always played it down the center. There was a consciousness, always, that some of his viewers at CBS -- a network which has, in the past, drawn an older viewership -- were probably right-of-center. The Letterman show, accordingly, had always been a zone as hospitable to Republicans as it was to Democrats.

The pendulum swings. Letterman now is openly going after the younger, more affluent and more ironic set. This is the sort of news, we cannot fail to note, that probably makes CBS' executives salivate. From Bill Carter's interesting New York Times article on the change in Letterman's show:

"'When he began in television, Letterman was virtually apolitical,' said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse. 'Now he’s moved to the point where he could be called a political comedian.'

"One reason may have been Mr. Letterman’s own unexpected role on the political stage in the last year. He had a famous contretemps during the presidential campaign with Mr. Obama’s opponent, Senator John McCain, after he canceled an appearance at the last minute.

"Then, this spring, Mr. Letterman found himself in a war of words with Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential nominee. 'I think when Letterman became a target of the right wing over Palin, it energized him politically,' said Alan Schroeder, an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University.

"Certainly, Mr. Letterman has not hesitated to hurl more comedy thunderbolts at subjects like Ms. Palin and former Vice President Dick Cheney. One longtime late-night production executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of associations with competing programs, said: 'Dave is wearing his views on his sleeve now. Is he going out on a limb? Why not? What’s he got to lose?'"

What's Dave got to lose indeed? Forgive us for being cynical, but this change -- noted in Carter's article, dated September 20th -- falls well within the period that David Letterman was in the thick of the extortion which began, as he told the nation last night, three weeks ago.

Of course we don't begrudge Letterman this strategic late night shift. Dave probably cannot do otherwise. Obviously such a revelation -- which had to be revealed in order to defang the extortionist -- was going to offend his older, more conservative viewers. And considering the tens of millions of dollars that Letterman -- a recent hit -- generates for the network, it was the smart thing to do. But it is a little disingenuous to present this change in the Letterman format to Bill Carter as occurring in a vacuum. Clearly, the extortion had something to do with it. As Robert George cleverly notes of Letterman's nemesis/Muse, "Sarah Palin must be smiling, and not just because her new book is already #1 on the bestseller list, before it's even been released."

Curiously, the news of the extortion comes at a time when Letterman finally beat his late night rival Conan O'Brien in the vaunted money demo -- 18-49. Will his more Progressive stance hurt him there? No? The youthful demographic was solidly Obama in 2008.

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Is South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham the new William F. Buckley? When William F. Buckley founded The National Review, that smug, anglophilic conservative monthly, he made a point of publicly disowning the racists, the anti-Semites, the borderline psychotics and the know-nothing conspiratorial hacks populating the right side of the American political spectrum after the Second World War. While we may not agree with Buckley's neo-medievalism, there was a sense of political seriousness allied with a noble risk in the act of casting off the putrid paleoconservative postwar detrius that ought to be respected. In the past year, however, the Birthers and Bachmans and teabagging knuckledraggers have returned with a vengeance, like some resilient species of bio luminescent fungi. Disturbingly, few voices within the Republican party seem to have the courage to rise up take them on." (Ron Mwangaguhunga/AirAmerica)



"Last night at Doyle New York, the auction galleries on 175 East 87th Street, they held an opening reception for the benefit of the New York City Opera of the Estate of Beverly Sills. The auction itself will be held on next Wednesday, October 7th. Beverly Sills was possibly the first opera diva to popularize Grand Opera for the American people through her television appearances on Johnny Carson where the audience met an effervescent, cheerful personality whose nickname was 'Bubbles' and whose laughter was contagious. One of a group of photographs, including Sills in La Traviata, 1971, costume by Jose Varona, as well as I Puritani, and Faust, plus Sills with Frank Sinatra, James Levine, her husband Peter Greenough and others. Estimate: $100 - $200. That ebullience belied a deeply committed artist as well as a woman who knew heartbreak in motherhood first hand." (NYSocialDiary)



"'We're not doing it for ratings,' said Sean McManus. It was the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 25, and Mr. McManus, the president of CBS News and Sports, was on the phone with The Observer talking about an upcoming, multi-day initiative at CBS News, which will focus on the state of the war in Afghanistan. For three straight days, beginning Monday, October 5, Katie Couric will essentially toss aside the typical format of the CBS Evening News and devote the bulk of each night's minutes to explaining where America's war in Afghanistan is headed eight years in. 'All the research shows that when you do stories on wars, normally, that doesn't spike the ratings," said Mr. McManus. "We just think it's important, as a news organization, to do this.'" (Observer)

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Last year (Gore Vidal) famously switched allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama during the Democratic nomination process for president. Now, he reveals, he regrets his change of heart. How’s Obama doing? 'Dreadfully. I was hopeful. He was the most intelligent person we’ve had in that position for a long time. But he’s inexperienced. He has a total inability to understand military matters. He’s acting as if Afghanistan is the magic talisman: solve that and you solve terrorism.' America should leave Afghanistan, he says. 'We’ve failed in every other aspect of our effort of conquering the Middle East or whatever you want to call it.' The 'War on Terror' was 'made up,' Vidal says. 'The whole thing was PR, just like ‘weapons of mass destruction’. It has wrecked the airline business, which my father founded in the 1930s. He’d be cutting his wrists. Now when you fly you’re both scared to death and bored to death, a most disagreeable combination' ... Another notable Obama mis-step has been on healthcare reform. 'He fucked it up. I don’t know how because the country wanted it. We’ll never see it happen.'" (TimesOnline)



"For more than 50 years, the tabloid daily Bild -- currently Europe's best-selling newspaper -- has served as both a reliable barometer of Germany's conservative movement and a steady vent of its populist id. The editors have never felt compelled to question their winning formula: The conservative parties' current talking points go above the fold, the naked 'Page One Girl' below it. The self-appointed guarantors of all that is traditionally Deutsch aren't much interested in the finer points of sensitivity training. And in that way, the tabloid might have been expected at some point this week to express ambivalence, if not disapproval, of the fact that the country's newly elected vice-chancellor and foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, is gay. Instead, though, Bild waved a white flag on one of the fronts of the country's decades-long culture war. As part of its gleeful coverage of the victory of the country's two main conservative parties in Sunday's election, the newspaper paid its respect to Westerwelle in the form of a sentimental page-one profile of his boyfriend, complete with a trashy headline: "His Boyfriend Makes Him Strong!'" (ForeignPolicy)



"I love the Olympics. And I love the idea of an American city—any American city—being awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics. I also happen to believe that the president of the United States is always the president—no matter where he is. He does not need to be holed up in the Oval Office to do his job, so I don’t buy the argument that President Obama will be skipping out on his day job by traveling to Copenhagen. But there are big risks for Obama in making the trip—and they have nothing to do with not winning the bid. The president seems to have forgotten the lessons that he helped teach an entire generation of political observers and operatives: Words matter, and so do appearances. President Obama will subject himself to three potentially damaging lines of attack when he boards the plane to Copenhagen. First, that he appears out of touch and absent at a moment of great domestic and international significance; second, that his priorities are parochial; and third, that he is disingenuous for reversing a statement made days ago that he could not make the trip because it would interfere with his health-care campaign." (TheDailyBeast)



"Also last night ... on one of the first cool nights of autumn in New York, the crowd stayed warm inside the heated tent at the Central Park Zoo as they celebrated the debut of James Gardner's novel, The Lion Killer. The book, described as "a thriller with bite," chronicles a search for a missing tourist that stretches all the way from the United States to Zimbabwe to the Sudan. Gardner himself has traveled to Africa more than two dozen times since his first trip in 1968. As guests nibbled on sliders and shrimp, Hasan Bakr provided musical entertainment with traditional African instruments like the ngoni, a harp-lute, and the djembe, a hand drum. The crowd included Mimi Strong, Gardner's literary agent; Maria Cooper; Sharon Bush; Mark Gilbertson; Tina Louise (who played Ginger in Gilligan's Island and is currently working on her second children's book); and Gillian Miniter." (NYSocialDiary)



"Emma Watson probably won't be returning to Harvard any time soon after being stalked in an orchestrated campaign of Ivy League harassment. Page Six reported on Tuesday that the 'Harry Potter' starlet and Brown University freshman looked "quite shaken" on Saturday as Harvard beat Brown 24-21 in Cambridge. Watson was reportedly flanked by security guards to protect her from gawkers. But her discomfort was actually the result of a targeted campaign by the Harvard Voice student magazine to draw as much attention to her as possible." (PageSix)



(Selena Gomez via papermag)

"Last night in L.A., Onitsuka Tiger hosted the record release party for Selena Gomez's debut album, Kiss & Tell. The album is is brimming with upbeat dance songs that make you want to look in the mirror, put on lip gloss, and tie your ponytail to the side. Girls will probably like it, too. Gomez has been linked to Twilight star Taylor Lautner, and I was hoping to catch a glimpse of him and the 30 pounds of muscle he gained for New Moon. I was instead greeted by Fame's Asher Book, which was fine with me. Book has major talent, a sweet face, and impeccable taste (he told me he was wearing Dolce & Gabbana and Diesel.) Book, who bought his V-Factory bandmates, mingled with fashion plate Lady Victoria Hervey -- who showed up with a cigarette in hand -- Selena's 'Wizards of Waverly Place' co-stars Jennifer Stone David Henrie, and Tiffany Thornton, the cast of 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager', soap star Taylor Spreitler and others. And though I loved the bevy of fresh faces in attendance, the highlight for me was an appearance from the elusive Kogi Korean BBQ truck." (Papermag)



"There is a trace of thwarted ambition about (Gore Vidal). 'I would have liked to have been president, but I never had the money. I was a friend of the throne. The only time I envied Jack was when Joe [Kennedy, JFK’s father] was buying him his Senate seat, then the presidency. He didn’t know how lucky he was. Here’s a story I’ve never told. In 1960, after he had spent so much on the presidential campaign, Joe took all nine children to Palm Beach to lecture them. He was really angry. He said, ‘All you read about the Kennedy fortune is untrue. It’s non-existent. We’ve spent so much getting Jack elected and not one of you is living within your income’. They all sat there, shame-faced. Jack was whistling. He used to tap his teeth: they were big teeth, like a xylophone. Joe turned to Jack and he says, ‘Mr President, what’s the solution?’ Jack said, ‘The solution is simple. You all gotta work harder’.' Vidal guffaws heartily." (TimesOnline)