Steer Clear of the Roast "Beast"



One question: Will they be serving Lagerfeld's special "Horsemeat"? Eschew the very red mystery meat pate. From Fashionweekdaily:

"Karl Lagerfeld is toasting his new Dom Pérignon ad campaign featuring Claudia Schiffer with a bash at his private residence in Paris on Wednesday."

Eew.

Media-Whore's D'Oevres



"Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Sunday announced a fundraising total of $32.5 million for the second quarter, setting a new record and outraising Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) by $5 million ...Obama boasted contributions from over 154,000 donors in the second quarter, bringing his total to 258,000 donors this year ... Clinton has yet to release how many donors contributed to her campaign in the second quarter. Her campaign received contributions from approximately 60,000 donors in the first quarter. Then-president Bill Clinton set the previous second quarter Democratic fundraising record in 1995, raising $9.6 million for the primaries." (TheHill)

"TINA'S L.A. TURN: 'Women always seem to come back after difficult times. It's like a badge of honor,' Arianna Huffington told the 18 women gathered in her Brentwood home June 25 for a girls' lunch honoring Tina Brown. 'It's nice to be part of Arianna's tribe,' said Brown, in town for a series of events promoting her best-selling book, 'The Diana Chronicles.' Of course, the guests, including Sony Pictures chairman Amy Pascal, Barbara Guggenheim, Gigi Grazer and Lynda Obst, took the opportunity to ask Brown for more dish on the late princess. 'I didn't realize that the British had so much sex,' said Pascal. 'So what are we doing here?' asked Grazer." (WWD)

"In case you weren’t invited, Alexander Wenner married Emily Eisen-Berkeley last night! Jann was joined by his wife (but not exactly) Jane Wenner at Villa Des Amis in Bridgehampton to celebrate the small, private affair. Wonder if Jann’s brawling nabes showed up. Remember the hedge-fund 'hedge' scandal from a few weeks ago? Yes, they’re in his ‘hood." (DansHaptonsBlog)

"U.S. India PAC chairman Sanjay Puri, says Indian-Americans gave between $7 million and $10 million to presidential candidates last cycle, and expects that to double this cycle" (Politico)

(via stereogum)

Princess Diana Concert Overview



Duran Duran was Princess Di's favorite band and thus got a personal intro from Prince William and Harry. Duran Duran promptly devoted the song "Wild Boys" to the two Princes. Duran Duran rocked the house mightily at the Princess Di concert, but our favorite quote of the concert was from UK Presenter Dave Berry who was unintentionally hilarious when he said, "I just bumped into Duran Duran backstage, they were hot and sweaty from doing 'wild boys.'"

Chelsea boys everywhere are rejoicing.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Celebrated starfucker Griffin Dunne, after a hard party's worth of social mountaineering finally arrives at the peak of Mount Kelsey Grammer. (image via newyorksocialdiary)



Paris may be burning, but Who needs Valtrex for those Hepes flare-ups when one has the Pacific-ocean at the ready? (image via thisislondon)

Bruce Willis Likes The Red Panties



There are stars, and there are actors. And there are actors who are stars, like Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington.

Bruce Willis is a star. Let's just say you won't see Bruce Willis giving up a summer to do Shakespeare in the Park (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). It's just not his way; It's all good though.

What willis does is entertaining and light and it puts asses in seats during the summer months with his profitable New-Jersey-Everyman shtick, but no one who knows what acting is would ever accuse Brucie of associating with "The Craft."

Brucie also has, unfortunately, a rather messy social life. Sure, he has the what can only be properly construed as "Postmodernist" relationship with his ex wife and her current boytoy and their "It" kids that looks, well, swell in the Anmnie Liebovitz treatment. But he likes porn stars and Playmetes and Assplay (with aforementioned pornstar) and other things that people in his tax bracket tend to sweep underneath the rug.

From Marksfriggin, March 20, 2001: "Howard ... got distracted with Alisha (Klass') Bruce Willis dating stories. She told Howard that she actually has video of Bruce totally naked on a PC camera. She went through the short relationship she had with Bruce. She said it was a one night sex thing but the phone relationship they had was a few months. They had sex one night and he performed anal sex on her and she said it was the best she's ever had."

Is it that surprising that Bruce Willis likes the red stockings? Apparently, 26-year old former "Days of Our Lives" star Nadia Bjorlin has some Brucie tales -- out of school, to be sure (Averted Gaze) -- to relay, salaciously, for the right price to the extremely downmarket NewsoftheWorld:

"Eyes lighting up as she relives the moment for the first time, Nadia says: 'That night we could not keep our hands off each other. We had not even made it into the bedroom when we started tearing each other's clothes off in his living room.

"'So much so at one point we were romping on the sofa, clawing at each other, when my bare bottom crashed into a lamp behind us and went crashing to the ground.

"'I had been too excited to notice it was so close. As it came smashing down around us Bruce jumped up to make sure it had not cut my bottom.

"'It did not stop us but then again nothing ever did. We were so into each other we would not have noticed if the building had been on fire.'"

Did we mentioned Bruce Willis, action-star, liked Ass-play? Also -- mirabile dictu -- the Newsoftheworld bullet point that Nadia was:

"ORDERED her to dress up in his favourite red stockings and garter so she could do a sexy strip for him."

Charmed, i'm sure. You might seriously want to consider a shower after reading this. (newsoftheworld)

latest posts here: (July 5th)

Separated at birth?



Tiger Woods' "cub" (image via stuff)



...And Jason Alexander. (image via espn)

It's all in the hairline.

Separated at Birth?

It sometimes seems as if every toxic bachelor who overstays their time in the L.A. playpen eventually morphs into an oily, creepy, blondish John Lovitz. (Even "Carrot-Top" has that evil, sex-crimesey L.A. bachelor look going). And that's fer sure not a good place to be existentially, but fertile ground, perhaps, to be explored on an upcoming episode of "Entourage." It must be the sun and the shallowness corrupting the soul spreading to the brow. The latest Separated at Birth:



skanky, perpetual bachelor, David Spade? (image via z.about)



Bloated, perpetual rocker, Vince Neill. (image via vinesugar)

Newt Gingrich: Waiting in the Tall Grass



(image via pubdef)

Although Kristen Gore -- and others -- insist that Al Gore is not running, the former Vice President has now $100 million at the ready and probably until September (Or an Obama poll-spike against Hillary)to decide whether or not to be in for a penny-in-for-a-pound.

Is Newt Gingrich taking a page from the Goreistas and waiting in the tall grass until the last possible moment, to see if one of the GOP Presidential gazelles stumbles or show signs of weakness? From our favorite Dickensian villain, Robert Novak:

"Newt Gingrich is telling Republican insiders that his decision in September whether to run for president in 2008 depends on the progress of Fred Thompson's imminent candidacy.

"If Thompson runs a vigorous and effective campaign, Gingrich says privately, he probably will not get in the race himself. If Thompson proves a dud, however, the former House speaker will seriously consider making a run. That implies that the others in the field look to Gingrich like losers in the general election."

Such a Gingrichian maneuver would split the conservative vote with Thompson, thereby all but giving the Republican nod to the oily slick Mitt Romney (Who has all but bought New Hampshire), a candidate that speaks conservative but comes off as blue-state friendly. Rudy Giuliani, as we have predicted, will implode after Southern audiences realize that the sum total of his foreign policy experience is the blinis at the Russian Tea Room.

Corsair Classic

Media-Whore's D'Oevres



(image via newyorksocialdiary)

"There was a book party (one of many) for Tina Brown and her new bestselling book 'The Diana Chronicles' about the short and tragic life of Britain’s most famous royal since Queen Victoria. The author and her husband Sir Harry Evans are so entrenched in the New York media world that any party involving them will bring out the most golden of media hordes .. I haven’t seen pictures of Tina Brown grinning this broadly ... ever!" (NewYorkSocialDiary)

"If Rupert Murdoch were the Angel Gabriel, you still wouldn't want him owning the sun, the moon, and the stars. That's too much prime real estate for even the pure in heart. But Rupert Murdoch is no saint; he is to propriety what the Marquis de Sade was to chastity. When it comes to money and power he's carnivorous: all appetite and no taste. He'll eat anything in his path." (Bill Moyers on HuffPo)

"Christian Dior’s couture show on July 2—part birthday blowout, part supermodel reunion—is guaranteed to be an extravaganza of unparalleled status. The all-night festivities, to which 1,000 celebrities, clients, and editors have been invited, are taking place at L’Orangerie de Versailles, and will commence at sunset under a dress code billed as 'extreme elegance.' .. A true supermodel reunion is also expected, with names like Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell ..." (Fashionweekdaily)

"Behind the hoopla about Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s possible bid for president in 2008, there is only one man right now: a 41-year-old political consultant who wears his shirt collar open, speaks without periods, and revels in his Irish heritage — which, in his words, extends to worry about making a buck and his belief that Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver are the end-all. His name is Kevin Sheekey, and building Bloomberg ’08 has been his consuming project for the past 19 months, ever since he floated the idea during a television appearance. If a candidacy ever takes off, it will be because Mr. Sheekey devised a game plan that his boss found persuasive and because he prepared political power brokers to see Mr. Bloomberg as a viable independent candidate, one they would not laugh off from the start." (NYTimes)

"Twenty-three years after Vince Neil drove drunk and had an accident that killed his passenger, Nicholas 'Razzle' Dingley of Hanoi Rocks, he has launched a new line of tequila called Tres Rios. Motley Crude" (TMZ)

"BILLIONAIRE financier Stephen Schwarzman was listed as one of the hosts of a 40th birthday party for Democratic Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island Thursday night at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. An individual ticket cost $1,000, with $5,000 required to be a VIP. Schwarzman, co-founder and CEO of the Blackstone Group, made newspaper front pages when it was reported he would earn $7.5 billion from the public offering of his private-equity firm. Other big money Democrats listed on the invitation included David Boies, Norman Hsu, Felix Rohatyn, Bernard Schwartz, Todd Slotkin and Kenneth I. Starr. The principal host was the congressman's father, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. The location of the party could be found only by phoning a Washington telephone number to R.S.V.P." (Rovak)

Turkey has prepared a blueprint for the invasion of northern Iraq and will take action if US or Iraqi forces fail to dislodge the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from their mountain strongholds across the border, Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul has warned. 'The military plans have been worked out in the finest detail. The government knows these plans and agrees with them,' Mr Gul told Turkey's Radikal newspaper. 'If neither the Iraqi government nor the US occupying forces can do this [crush the PKK], we will take our own decision and implement it,' Mr Gul said." (Guardian)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



It's alright; it's all good: It's not a party until something gets broken. (image via thecobrasnake)



The Sir Edmund Hillary of Social Climbers, Charlie Rose, briskly exits his sarcophagus, aroused by the scent of billionaires and booze. (image via newyorksocialdiary)



He had us at the Neck Sweat. (image via thecobrasnake)



My good man, nothing like a freshly-squeezed glass of Peruvian peasant blood to clear away the cobwebs, eh? (image via newyorksocialdiary)



A philosophical question: Where does the plastic sofa covering end and Lisa Rinna begin? (image via fashionweekdaily)



All the "Cheek Squeezes," alas, are for naught; and the tragic irony of It All is that Paris Hilton's concave ass would have filled out considerably had she just eaten those goddam prison-issue bologna sandwiches. (image via justjared)

Bloomberg: Obama "Not experienced enough to Become President"



(image via hcji)

Smack-talk is the first sign that a potential candidate is testing the political winds for a Presidential sail. Are Gotham Mayor Michael Bloomberg's scathing comments on Senator Obama a clue as to whether or not he'll run? From Ben Smith's blog on Politico (via Drudgie-poo):

"A reader who ran into Mike Bloomberg at Primavera on the Upper East Side last night is the second source to report hearing Bloomberg describe the Illinois senator as too inexperienced to be president.

"Bloomberg, according to my spy, said he had met Obama for the first time about a year and a half ago, in the Senate subway, and was struck by Obama's eloquence.

But 'he simply is not experienced enough to become president,' Bloomberg, I'm told, said. That's in part, at least, because 'senators have absolutely no idea what executive decision making is all about'"

So, if Obama gets the Dem nod, does this mean Bloomberg runs? Or if an ultraconservative, but telegenic Fred Thompson runs does Bloomie throw his hat into the ring? And, for that matter, what about the smacktalk he launched at "Mutt Romney" through a surrogate? Sounds like he's putting a toe in the electoral waters. From the NYPost:

"'I'm appalled he would think it's OK to strap the family dog on top of the car like it was a mattress or piece of furniture,' said Jane Hoffman, president of Mayor Bloomberg's Alliance for Animals."

Corsair Classic

Vera Wang, Nearly Went Bang



The Corsair always thought that those fashionable SoHo cobblestoned streets must be murder on a fashionista's perfectly-manicured toesies (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). Vera Wang, apparently, got caught sleeping-while-standing-up, and nearly took a very fashionable "concrete nap." We can joke about a slip of a woman like Vera Wang nearly meeting that Great Fashion Designer-in-the-Sky in retrospect because, of course, no one was hurt and -- mirabile dictu -- in the end, monies were raised for a good cause. It's all good. And, if you have a good imagination, pretty chi-larious. From Fashionweekdaily:

"Vera Wang nearly had a close encounter of the worst kind Thursday. The designer, in SoHo taping a television commercial for her new collaboration with Kohl’s, tripped in her Prada stilettos while crossing the street, stumbling onto the cobblestones just as a commercial delivery truck came rambling along. Fortunately for Wang, the truck screeched to a halt barely an inch before hitting her and she was able to regain her composure in time to finish taping and, later that evening, attend a splendid summer gala performance featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Hell’s Kitchen Dance. Carolina Herrera, Anne McNally, Mercedes Bass, Graydon and Anna Carter, and Joan Didion were also all on hand for the intimate dinner, which raised more than $400,000 for the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation."

A Hell's Kitchen dance, indeed!

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Big Harv Weinstein, whose explosive laughter here clearly suggests he has just recently fucked some perceived enemy over royally, without the K-Y. (image via style)



"Sly," or "Slick," as in Oily as an environmental disaster. (image via vogue)



Aggressively man-tanned ad exec Danny Deutsch likes to be photographed in a contrast of Canary yellow against his own Vancouver-sunsety hue. (image via style)

Media-Whore's D'Oevres



(image via vogue)

"ON the second week of international fashion shows, international fashion show parties and resulting international fashion show mornings after, it's ironically reassuring that we can always rely on John Galliano to inject an element of disquiet into the proceedings to put us firmly back on the edge of our seats. Following a frantic dash through notoriously bad Paris traffic to the Église Saint-Sauveur in out-of-town Issy Les Moulineaux, the fashion pack were just settling into their seats yesterday as a model in combat trousers and flip-flops, bare-chested with a scarf and cap obscuring his face, took to the catwalk. It was the opening to the most provocative show we've seen yet; models wore neon camouflage prints, loose or padded jackets and combat-style vests with pockets and straps strung over bare chests. Exposed skin was daubed with army-style camouflage paint; faces were obscured with netting, helmets, foliage, traditional Middle-Eastern headdresses and fake beards" (VogueUK)

"In days, the calendar will turn to July, a month that will mark the eighth anniversary of the one decision that, it is only becoming more apparent, has defined the course of George W. Bush’s presidency—including the invasion of Iraq. It was in July 2000 that Mr. Bush, then the Governor of Texas and the soon-to-be-nominated Republican presidential candidate, made his selection for a vice-presidential running-mate from two finalists: Dick Cheney and John Danforth. History will record that the suspense was mainly manufactured and that the skids had been quietly greased both for and by Mr. Cheney by Mr. Cheney, whom Mr. Bush had tabbed earlier in the year to oversee the selection process. But at the time, Mr. Cheney’s selection was a public surprise, one eagerly greeted by a pundit class that hailed the former Defense Secretary for providing 'gravitas' to a ticket led by the internationally virginal Mr. Bush. It may be difficult, then, to grasp how vastly different the Bush administration and the world it has sought to reshape, might now be if Mr. Bush had instead opted for Mr. Danforth, a former three-term Senator from Missouri who ultimately served for five months in 2004 as Mr. Bush’s U.N. ambassador. (Observer)

"Tina Brown was celebrated and grilled by AARP Publications editor, Hugh Delehanty, at an al fresco luncheon Wednesday at the Bel Air Hotel, organized by AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine targeted at the 50-and-over crowd ... Starting with the Pimm’s Cups served on the lawn, the 120 guests, which included Emily Mortimer (in town shooting a new David Mamet movie), writer Fred Schruers, Morgan Fairchild, In Style West Coast bureau chief Glynis Costin and her photographer husband, Art Streiber, Steve Martin, Angela Janklow, and a mix of movie and publishing types, enjoyed a round of served fish ‘n’ chips that were capped off by a witty repartee with the former Vanity Fair editor, who was introduced by David Geffen, himself notorious for never wearing suits. 'One of my reasons for being here was to actually observe David Geffen wearing a tie,' laughed Brown" (fashionweekdaily)

"Sources tell TMZ the Britney/K-Fed divorce is not over.We're told Federline will not sign the final property settlement agreement and is saying, before he does, he wants proof that Britney can handle joint custody. But TMZ knows that Britney and K-Fed already have a 50-50 deal where each has the kids for half the time." (TMZ)

"Norman Pearlstine, the former editor-in-chief of Time Inc., who stepped down two years ago, was back inside the Time Warner Center on Wednesday for a party to celebrate publication of his book 'Off the Record: The Press, the Government, and the War over Anonymous Sources.' The book details the behind-the-scenes maneuvers and long-term legal aspects of the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, and how journalists handled the information what was being dished to them. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald pressed reporters to disclose sources. Many cooperated out of the gate but Time magazine initially fought to protect its source ... Matthew Cooper, the Time reporter at the center of the controversy, subsequently left the company to work in the Washington bureau of the new Condé Nast title Portfolio. But he was on hand for the bash. 'I haven't read my friend Norm's book but look forward to his account of why he delivered my notes to the federal prosecutor,' said Cooper." (NYPost)



"The defeat of the immigration bill will boost the chances of a Democratic victory in 2008, giving Hillary Clinton, the probable Democratic candidate, a strong advantage. Hispanic voters will undoubtedly blame the Republicans for the failure of the bill. In 2004, Bush made progress among Latino voters, coming within 10 points of Kerry among Hispanics, having lost them by 30 points to Gore four years before. But in 2006, Latinos voted Democratic by more than 40 points, according to exit polls, because of their anger at the harsh Republican immigration proposals. Now that the Republicans have defeated the immigration bill, they will very likely pay a steep price at the polls in 2008." (Dick Morris in TheHill)

Lunch at Michael's (Wed): "George ('They're toasted!') Hamilton. Looking slightly less well done than we've seen him on Dancing with the Stars and those clever Ritz crackers commercials, the ageless entertainer caused quite a stir among today's lunchtime set when he sauntered in with Allen Grubman. Looking dapper in blue pinstripes, Hamilton chatted with lots of folks including actor Ron Livington and Barbara Walters. Lunchtime chronicler Diane Clehane caught up with Barbara on her way out to ask what she thought of Larry King's decision to interview Paris Hilton. 'I think it's fine,' she said. 'He should do it. I'm glad it's not me.'" (FishBowlNY)

"Lagging far behind Obama and Clinton financially, Edwards reaps pick-me-up from jousting with Ann Coulter: $450,000 from 2,300 donors within 24 hours." (WSJ via Politico)

Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher: They Don't Want People Up Their Asses



(image via theinsideronline)

This is the classic Long Island love story. Boy meets girl at auto body shop. Girl decides she loves. Girl shoots boys wife in the face. Girl does time in the pokey. Boy gets busted for soliciting a hooker. Girl gets out and writes for something called "The Long Island Ear" (Averted Gaze). Then boy reunites with boy again, years later. And, last but not least, Ex-wife wishes they both die horrible deaths. Ah, Long Island, land of white flight (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). From Marksfriggin:

"Howard had Joey Buttafuocco and Amy Fisher on the phone. They've apparently become a couple. Gary had told Howard that they didn't know where they were at, they refused to say. Howard asked Joey what's up with that. Joey said that they just don't want people up their asses."

Charmed, I'm sure. (Marksfriggin)

New posts (Here)

Media-Whores D'Oevres



(image via newyorksocialdiary)

"A very hot late June Tuesday in New York. At noontime I went over to the New-York Historical Society for their annual Strawberry Festival luncheon ... The N-YHS Strawberry Luncheon (revived 8 years ago by among others, Joan Jakobson) is now in the 21st century ... Today’s speaker was Michelle Obama, the wife of the Presidential candidate. I’ve been to most of these luncheons over the past few years and I’ve heard some interesting women including Hillary Clinton, and Liz Smith and Wendy Wasserstein, and Lesley Stahl, to name only four. They are all always interesting to hear – and to see in person. Your perception is altered by the experience of seeing them in the flesh, up close, and talking... Yesterday’s luncheon was a sell-out because of her. There was also a bank of photographers and vidcams in the luncheon room – something I’d never seen at this event before." David Patrick Columbia in NewYorkSocialDiary)

"Nathan Lane wants to end discrimination - and give heterosexuals a pride march...Lane was being honored by the Trevor Project, a national crisis and suicide-prevention help line for gay and questioning youth. Speaking of questioning - look, there's Jodie Foster! According to a source, the petite actress donated $150,00 to help open a New York call center." (Gatecrasher)

"Zimbabwe’s government has put forward legislation that would require virtually all publicly traded companies to cede controlling interests to 'indigenous' citizens, raising the possibility of a sizable redistribution of the country’s remaining wealth at a time when its economy is collapsing ...Prices change daily, if not hourly; one news report last week noted that golfers at a Harare country club were paying for their 19th-hole drinks before teeing off after discovering that prices were rising while they were on the course." (NYTimes)

Sado-Madsen-ism



That Michael Madsen -- the C-list brother of Virginia Madsen -- has sadomasochistic tendencies is a given ("Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"). He's Old School like that. But this weekend's NYTimes article on Asia Argento -- also, we cannot fail to note, clearly damaged goods -- brings it all home. From Dennis Lim:

"Mr. Assayas, who wrote 'Boarding Gate' especially for Ms. Argento, said he had been impressed with her unpretentious openness. 'She doesn’t distinguish between high and low art,' he said. 'When she acts, it’s an amazing combination of pure instinct and virtuoso technique.'

"Both of those qualities are on full display in the talky sequences that she and Mr. Madsen partly improvised. These long bouts of kinky one-upmanship got so extreme that she sometimes left the set in tears. In one particularly intense scene, 'he bit me,' she said, providing unprintable specifics about where and how."

Silly little freak! You'll remember Madsen, way back in July 2004, chatting up the wild times on the set of Kill Bill 2. From something called Independent Film Quarterly:

"Michael Madsen: I don't know if we had wild times. We had good times. Quentin likes to laugh a lot. He's a great laugh. Like the night we did the syringe shot in the butt. I'd never seen so many volunteers in my whole life! Every single woman on that set wanted to be the inserted ass. They were lined up and one by one they'd lay down and I'd shoot them in the ass. (It's for the scene where Michael's character shoots Uma's character in the butt before he buries her alive in a coffin)."

Silly little freak!

Media-Whore's D'Oevres



(image via newyorksocialdiary)

"Senator Chuck Schumer was one of the many people who stopped by to sit shiva for the gossip columnist and television reporter Claudia Cohen at Ron Perelman’s townhouse on East 63rd Street on Monday, June 18 ... She was eulogized by designer Calvin Klein, who told of how when the late Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell went to prison for a year, Ms. Cohen was the only one who sent Mr. Rubell a letter each day. Vanity Fair writer Bob Colacello spoke of how intensely Ms. Cohen was planning a Fourth of July party at her beachfront manse in East Hampton. She would labor for months over the seating arrangements, he told The Transom on the phone: 'It was like a mix of governors, mayors, artists, writers and journalists. She always liked to have at least one guest who was controversial. One year she had Victoria Gotti, another year it was Paris Hilton, another it was Martha Stewart, last year the guest was Star Jones.” (Observer)

"Their joint appearance in Manhattan tonight was a bit of a puzzlement for us political reporters. (Hillary) Clinton interviewed Warren Buffett, largely read questions submitted from the audience, and as he played a kind of folk Rawls, she nodded. And nodded. And nodded. She must have nodded -- according to my informal reporters' poll -- 700 times. She also raised more than $1 million at the dinner preceding the interview, which was packed with Wall Street elites." (Ben Smith via Politico)

"We went to three fundraisers this past Saturday night. The season has begun. And the guest list at each one will be long every single Friday and Saturday night until Labor Day. There’s a whole army of us who try to go to as many as we can ..There is more than $20 million to be raised for charity at fundraisers and parties in the Hamptons this summer." (DansHamptons)

"On 'Meet the Press' this Sunday, Mr. Broder, the supposed 'dean' of the Washington press corps, demonstrated that on at least one topic he’s well ahead of his fellow journalists. At issue was Michael Bloomberg’s potential presidential candidacy and as his fellow panelists, PBS’s Gwen Ifill, The Wall Street Journal’s John Harwood and Roger Simon of The Politico, took turns expounding on The 646 Reasons Why An Independent Can Never Be Elected, Mr. Broder jumped in. 'You guys are much too dismissive,' he told them. Mr. Broder then argued that an independent 'absolutely' can win the presidency in 2008 because both parties are fatally tainted – the Republicans by their association with President Bush and the Democrats by their stewardship of Congress – thus creating a gaping opening for a credible third candidate in the middle." (Observer)

"For the month of July, starting June 30, Project GreenHouse will host a series of exclusive dinners and parties to benefit environmental charties like RiverKeeper, The Rainforest Foundation, FEED Bags, and a très privé affair hosted by model and eco-chicette, Summer Rayne Oakes. Guests like Lauren Bush, Lorraine Bracco, Christie Brinkley, Kevin Bacon, and Martha Stewart will enjoy tours of the house, the opportunity to chat with environmental experts, and food direct from the farm, prepared by a local in-house chef. " (Fashionweekdaily)

"A senior Republican’s sharp criticism of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq war has emboldened anti-war activists, who are planning to ratchet up pressure on the Senate to take a more hard-line approach during the debate next month over defense authorization legislation. Six-term Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the ranking member and former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a floor speech Monday night that the troop surge Bush announced in January has not shown signs of success, and that the White House should immediately begin a process to withdraw troops from Iraq. 'In my judgment, our course in Iraq has lost contact with our vital national security interests in the Middle East and beyond,' Lugar said on the floor." (TheHill)

"Meanwhile, MARC JACOBS's on-again-off-again beau, JASON PRESTON, wants to be inserted back into HX. Unflappable editor BRANDON VOSS got two messages in a row from Preston declaring that he and Jacobs would love a cover story to announce that they're supposedly not only reunited but totally clean. Instead, Voss offered Preston the chance to write something short about "how to snag a rich and famous boyfriend," but he tastefully declined ..." (Michael Musto in VillageVoice)