Media-Whore D'Oevres



(image via Russ Carmack/The News Tribune)

"Floyd Brown is back. Brown, the former political director of 'Americans for Bush' (meaning George H.W. Bush), was a key player in the infamous 1988 "Willie Horton" ad, and his new group the National Campaign Fund -- which launched a new website "Expose Obama" -- aims to take a similarly low-road approach to the presidential race and his new target, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois. As Time's Michael Scherer reported this week Brown is trying to raise funds to run a TV ad against Obama in North Carolina, which will holds its primary on May 6." (ABCNews)

"As part of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's ongoing 'Indecision 2008' coverage of the 2008 presidential election, the show will host a former president and former Speaker of the House, along with the current Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and current Senate Majority Leader over the coming weeks. Former President Jimmy Carter (April 28), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (April 29), Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean (May 1) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (May 5) will stop by 'The Daily Show's' midtown Manhattan studio to sit down with Jon Stewart." (ComedyCentral)

"The days when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen starred in cutesy flicks like How The West Was Fun are as over as era when Nicole Kidman had an expressive forehead. Nowadays, of course, Mary-Kate shows up on Weeds, playing 'Tara, a devoted Christian girl who falls in with a family of drug-dealing suburbanites.' And I just saw a screening of The Wackness, a cool little film about a young drug dealer in love, and while I'm not at liberty to reveal anything substantial about it just yet, let's just say that Mary-Kate's brief role might not be completely unrelated to narcotics." (Musto)

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that three of the party’s most influential figures might join to convince Democratic superdelegates to make up their minds which presidential candidate to support. Reid said he, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean might write a joint letter, or individual letters, to superdelegates after the last primaries in early June, 'unless something comes up.'" (TheHill)

"Mr. Wright, who has acted as Mr. Obama’s spiritual mentor and retired in February as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, said that he has never heard Mr. Obama repeat any of his controversial statements. 'Absolutely not,' Mr. Wright said. 'I don’t talk to him about politics. And so he had a political event, he goes out as a politician and says what he has to say as a politician. I continue to be a pastor who speaks to the people of God about the things of God.' Mr. Obama publicly denounced Mr. Wright’s remarks, a reaction Mr. Wright said 'went down very simply.' 'He’s a politician, I’m a pastor,' he said. 'We speak to two different audiences. And he says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they’re two different worlds.'" (BenSmith/Politico via NYTImesBlogs)

A Little Of The Old In And Out



In: Tina Fey. And so begins the Tribeca Film Festival, with 30 Rock's Executive Producer Tina Fey's Baby Mama as the opener. Fey, the present heavyweight champion of American comedy -- a position once occupied by Richard Pryor and Jerry Seinfeld -- is, unlike David Chappelle, maximizing her moment in the sun. From the salmon-colored weekly:

"Baby Mama opened the 7th annual Tribeca Film Festival last night at the Ziegfeld Theater, and the temple of Hollywood in New York was packed full of celebrities tramping a red carpet that snaked down 54th Street almost to Sixth Avenue.

"It was a comedy-loving crowd, judging from the laughs that started even before the film did, during the pre-movie Tribeca Film Festival promo short about a man as a film junkie (it’s actually funnier than it sounds), and when the lights went up you could see the proof: Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Chris Kattan, and Molly Shannon were all there to bask in the easy charms of Tina Fey's slight comedy.

"... Ms. Fey, who is either the thinking man's biggest crush right now or the subject of an enormous public comedy backlash, stars as Kate Holbrook, who is a great producer at work but not such a great reproducer at home."

(image via bravotv)

Out: Jen, Top Chef. It didn't seem fair. The fauxhawked Jen, the last surviving lesbian, was booted for her phallic dish. Watching her explain the reasoning behind the presentation was excruciating. Excruciating. And when the plates were cleared, she was asked to leave. We cannot fail to note that there seemed to be an odd gender-thingie going on in the decision of who was to go. And it didn't quite strike us as fair (For the record, neither did Sheila's chauvanistic double-teamed eviction from Big Brother). Maybe there's a reason Senator Clinton is such a strong challenger? From TONY:

"At the judge’s table, Richard and Dale took the honors for their tofu dish, and both walked away with some Calphalon cookware. Jen was sent home for her oily cheese and a soggy-on-one-side-grilled-on-the-other slice of bread. Sending Jen to pasture means an elbow to the paunch for Top Chef’s gay quotient. Shucks!"

(image via Patrick McMullan)

In: Glenda Bailey. Remember when Glenda Bailey was supposed to be the dowdy in-house joke of the fashionista crowd? Sure, she was competent (otherwise she would not have gotten the job), but she didn't have elan, like Anna Wintour. Things change. From Fashionweekdaily:

"Sunshine streamed through the Hearst Tower's glass façade at Wednesday's opening reception for the exhibition Harper's Bazaar & American Fashion: 75 Years of Headlines & Hemlines. Inspired by the book American Fashion, which was commissioned by the CFDA and published in September 2007 by Assouline, the gallery space was transformed into a retrospective gallery faeturing visionary fashions and iconic images. Hosted by Glenda Bailey, Cathie Black, Michael Clinton, and Diane von Furstenberg, the event enabled guests to admire 60 prints outfitted in vintage and modern designs from CFDA designers ... Despite her arbiter-of-style status, Bailey suffers for fashion like the rest of us mortals. Her magnificent Oscar de la Renta sandals were causing a bit of discomfort. 'I really need to sit down for a few minutes,' she said before finding a stool next to Matthew Modine."

A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via telegraph)

In: Hillary Clinton. The margin of ten points or thereabouts was what can only be properly construed as a humiliation to the Obama campaign, which outspent Senator Clinton in Pennsylvania ad buys by $11 million to $5 million (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). As much as we loathe to admit it, Senator Clinton's lowball tactics are bearing a dark and savaghe fruit. Senator Obama appeals to the sunny idealism of those who do not have baggage (i.e. college students), contrasts dramatically with Clinton's gritty appeal to those left behind in the global economy (for further reference, see the Osama ad). We won't entertain the word "bitter," because, frankly, it is probably more complicated than that. Clinton, who has, until now, been the bete noir of the white lower middle class un-ironic Budweiser drinker, beat out Obama in that demographic. She also did so in Ohio. And Massachusetts (despite the Kennedy imprimatur).

It seems that the Pennsylvania victory only cements what this blog has argued for a while, namely the fact that Obama needs to stop acting like a saucer-eyed political naif fixated on that great, big spinning world of ideas and ask that grotty fucking Senator from the Empire State to be his running mate. Running mates don't have to like one another.



(image via washingtonpost)

Out: Harold M. Ickes, Monekyfixer. The Dickensian-named Harold Ickes, already routed by the left-blogosphere in his quest to become the Democratic National Committee Chair (It went to blog fave Howard Dean), has come back -- armed with legalese and geeky pocket-protectors -- to possibly steal the convention for the Clinton camp. Monkeyfixer, fix thyself.



(image via collegeandpublisher)

In: Jane Rosenthal. The Tribeca Film Festival was in danger of becoming an unmanageable behemoth. Was this over-measured response to the desolation of 9/11 a sort of imperial excess? Perhaps. Now Rosenthal responds. From The salmon-colored weekly:

"HAVE THE CRITICS been too harsh? 'I keep quoting Keith Richards, because I cannot analyze it anymore. It just is what it is,' said Ms. Rosenthal, days from Tribeca’s opening night kickoff on April 23, a celebrity-packed premiere of Baby Mama at the Ziegfeld Theater. Ms. Rosenthal gave a pointedly silent shrug. 'It’s just a film festival; it’s not like analyzing a heart procedure.' Ms. Rosenthal was sitting in a sunny office at Tribeca Film Festival headquarters, a rosy-bricked building on Greenwich street, walls adorned with classic movie posters and black-and-white portraits of past festival participants. Seven floors below, the first truly warm day of the season had office workers leaning against buildings, turning their winter-pallored faces skyward; the sidewalks were bustling, and construction of new buildings rumbled in the distance—all a far cry from seven years ago. 'The neighborhood has rebounded more than anyone could have imagined,' she said. 'It’s the human spirit—it’s so New York.'"

(image via thewashingtonnote)

Out: Is Obama A JFK Or An Adlai Stevenson? This question has been asked in the more thoughtful spaces for some time now. Both Stevenson and JFK are important political figures in the Democratic Party in the latter half of the twentieth century. One, however, became a pivotal President and the other a carrier of some noble ideas that were probably articulated far too early to have a measurable immediate effect. Stevenson is to JFK what Goldwater was to Reagan, and in which camp would you rather belong? Me, too.

But that argument does not follow through to Obama. Matthew Yglesias wrote, "Arthur Schlesinger liked to defend his decision during the 1960 campaign to defect from the Adlai Stevenson camp to the John F. Kennedy camp in terms of the idea that Stevenson had a discomfort with the idea of power that, while arguably admirable in some respects, was fundamentally inconsistent with the realities of political leadership." Now, of course, after another big state goes Hillary, and Obama seems unable to engage in the sort of trench warfare necessary to deliver the final blow to the Clinton candidacy and secure the nomination, this question once again, unfortunately, arises. Especially on last night's Charlie Rose program.



In: Tribeca Film Fest Dinner. Attending Graydon Carter's annual thing festooned with Baby Boomers were the Seinfelds, Lee Radziwill, Sigourney Weaver, André Leon Talley, Francesco Clemente, Fran Lebowitz, Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman, John McEnroe, Anjelica Huston, Larry David, Diane von Furstenberg, Martha Stewart, Zac Posen and Lola Schnabel. From Fashionweekdaily:

"'Never keep them past 11. Make sure everyone gets fed. And don't make long speeches.; These were the very succinct dinner rules that Graydon Carter established early in the evening to tame his very accomplished guests during his seventh-annual Vanity Fair Tribeca Film Festival dinner ... Joining Carter were co-hosts Robert De Niro and Ron Perelman, who graciously greeted a small army of bold-faced names on the patio of the State Supreme Court House. 'I'm thankful I was able to get up those stairs without the help of crutches,' announced Donna Karan. 'Because that's what I had to struggle with for the last two years.' Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg was equally comfortable."

Corsair Classic

Apparently this billboard has been spotted at the corner of La Cienega and Pickford Place in Los Angeles. Image via Wowreport/John Vidas

Peter Falk Flips Out?





He's trippin'! (image via thisislondon)

Don't know if this is a hoax or not (and frankly we are hoping it is), but Peter Falk, best known for playing "Columbo," among other iconic roles, reportedly acted pretty motherfucking erratic in Beverly Hills. Please don't tell The Corsair that a guy with his cred is disintegrating right before our eyes. Tell us, rather, that this is deep-cover, this is some serious form of "Method acting" as research for a new role. From Thisislondon:

"The 80-year-old former Columbo star looked dazed and confused as he walked near his Beverly Hills home on Tuesday afternoon.

"The two-time Oscar nominee was spotted waving his arms in the air and muttering to himself. He looked almost as dishevelled as the famous character he played in the 1970s detective programme.

"Another passer-by, who refused to be named, said the star looked to be disorientated.

"Someone eventually called police, but when officers arrived on the scene Falk convinced them that he didn't need help."

We hope this is nothing serious. Falk was, we cannot fail to note, wholly magnificent in Wings of Desire.

Media-Whore D'Oevres



"...Over on Fifth, in her palatial apartment overlooking the Met, the goodtime glamour girl/business tycoon, Georgette Mosbacher and her sister Lyn Paulsin hosted a birthday buffet for Jolie Hunt (yesterday’s Diary’s opening picture) who turned 30. Her boyfriend, the author Christopher Buckley, in part of his toast, praised the occasion because he would no longer have to refer to his girlfriend as 29 to his quite a bit more than 29." (NYSocialDiary)

"And so, the WASPs left in the room—and Joan Collins, who was wearing a leopard-print raincoat and a leopard-print shirt, and posed for pictures—continued sipping champagne and white wine. Taki Theodoracopulos kissed Ms. Collins. A blonde woman of a certain age was complimented on her jacket, which she said was vintage. She had purchased it at a shop on South Beach where she buys all her vintage clothing. A woman proclaimed that she had been Spy magazine's first receptionist, and freelance journalist Lloyd Grove said he and Mr. Buckley were friends from way back. A young reporter from Vanity Fair was holding two copies of the book, one of which he needed autographed for 'his boss.' Introductions were offered to Mr. Buckley, and he expressed surprise that a woman who exactly fit his narrator's demographic profile not only existed, but was standing right there in front of him." (Gawker)

"Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in Pennsylvania on Tuesday by enough of a margin to continue a battle that Democrats increasingly believe is undermining their effort to unify the party and prepare for the general election against Senator John McCain. Despite a huge investment of time and money by Mr. Obama and pressure on Mrs. Clinton by the party establishment to consider folding her campaign, she won her third big state in a row. Mrs. Clinton showed again that she is a tenacious campaigner with an ability to connect with the blue-collar voters Mr. Obama has found elusive and who could be critical to a Democratic victory in November." (NYTimes)

"robbers off Lagos in the early hours of 14 April, it was just the latest in a long line of violent attacks in Nigerian waters that have put the international shipping community at a state of high alert. Last year, two seafarers were killed - with dozens more injured, taken hostage or kidnapped - in Nigerian waters as the number of actual and attempted pirate attacks reported to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) rocketed from 12 in 2006 to 42 in 2007. The figures were unveiled in the IMB's 2007 annual report, 'Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships', which was published in January this year. Speaking to Jane's soon afterwards, the bureau's director, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, blamed a 'lack of proper law enforcement' and said there was 'really no excuse' for the Nigerian Navy's (NN's) failure to 'deal with this problem effectively'." (Janes)

"Steven Soderbergh’s two pic Che bio and Clint Eastwood’s 'The Changeling' look like potential standouts at a 61st Cannes Film Festival that may be a touch lighter on Yank Palme d’Or contenders but is heavy on Hollywood glam, thanks to multiple U.S. pics, both studio and indie, packing out many out-of-competition slots. Soderbergh’s inclusion — he competes with 'The Argentine' and 'Guerrilla' — looks like a last-minute decision. For much of this week, there seemed genuine uncertainty as to whether he would be able to finish the two films by the time Cannes rolls. Three Stateside out-of-competition players, all with major star quotients, thanks to largely choral casts, look set to keep Palais flashguns popping at least every other day. As predicted, Steven Spielberg’s 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' world preems down on the Croisette, possibly on Sunday May 18. It promises this fest’s must-attend, highest-glam event." (Variety)

"The idea of a Brooklyn literary 'scene' is one that has become so ingrained in the city’s consciousness that, in true Brooklyn style, it has now become fashionable to consider writerly Brooklyn in an ironic manner, to comment on the ridiculousness of the idea that a place can, in fact, be said to help define a literary community. Take, for example, Colson Whitehead’s cheeky New York Times Book Review essay—'I Write in Brooklyn. Get Over It'—from last month, in which he questioned the very idea that the borough could be said to inspire any kind of literary imagination. He wrote: 'There was the famous case of the language poet from Red Hook who grew despondent when the Shift key on her MacBook broke. She couldn’t write for weeks. Overcome by melancholy humors, she jumped into the enchanted, glowing waters of the Gowanus Canal, her pockets full of stones. And … she was cured! The metaphors came rushing back. With eccentric spacing between the letters, but still.' Of course, as Mr. Whitehead himself tacitly acknowledges, writers have long found refuge across the East River (if often for financial reasons)." (Observer)



"Forget Beverly Sills or La Callas. On Monday night, the Metropolitan Opera's opening gala drew a diva of a different stripe to Lincoln Center — Miss Naomi Campbell. The supermodel and tabloid sensation was there accompanying Stefano Pilati of Yves Saint Laurent, the evening's sponsor. After dinner, the duo—along with starlets such as Ginnifer Goodwin, Diane Kruger, and Emmy Rossum—adjourned to the theater for the premiere of a new production of La Fille du Régiment." (Style)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



Can we watch? (image via thecobrasnake)



Ah, that irresistable dirty Corona sweat scent. With just a smidgeon of Ass. (image via thecobrasnake)




When Picture Pages meets "A Little Of The Old In And Out." (image via thecobrasnake)



-- And who among us doesn't like Punk Rock? (image via thecobrasnake)



So round, so firm so -- How you say -- "Fully Packed." (image via thecobrasnake)

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



The Untitled Quentin Tarantino Project, Take 78. (image via thecobrasnake)



"But, seriosuly, neither Kierkegaard nor Hegel on the subject of consciousness cannot be properly construed but in relation to one another." (image via thecobrasnake)

Obama Needs The Phildelphia Region And The Lehigh Valley



(image via musto)

Politico publishes an excellent guide to tonight's primary election results in Pennsylvania. Among the other bits of advice offered not to cheer at the early precinct results. It is later in the evening, when Southeast Pennsylvania's results come in, with their small towns with blue collar workers, that the gladiatorial fundament will be fully joined (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). Also, Politico being Politico (The Corsair pops a bottle of the fizzy), gives a wondrous polysci-geek analysis of the 2002 Democratic Gubernatorial primary between rivals Ed Rendell and Bob Casey, and how it is symbolic of tonight's fight among their Presidential proxies:

"Rendell beat Casey by winning only 10 counties out of 67 in the state. The governor won Philadelphia by 160,000 votes, and swept the four suburban counties—Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery—with 80-90 percent of the vote. He carried the Lehigh Valley, which includes Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, by a 2-to-1 margin. He edged out Casey in Penn State’s Centre County by five points.

"Casey won the other major population centers in Southwest and Central Pennsylvania, but not by enough to offset Rendell’s advantage in the populous Southeast.

"To duplicate Rendell’s victory, Obama would need to show a similar level of strength as Rendell in the Philadelphia region and in the Lehigh Valley. But no polls have found him getting anywhere close."

More here.

Evan Bayh's Big Gamble

Evan Bayh Recalls Visiting Walter Reid

The VeePee Dance is especially fierce leading into Pennsylvania, or, as we like to call it "The Superbowl for Poly-Sci Geeks." And Senator Evan Bayh, as a result, a man who as a public speaker is less compelling than watching plants produce oxygen, has a lot riding on the results. Also, on the Democrat side, do former Governor Mark Warner of Virginia, that glorious Bill Richardson of New Mexico, and, quite possibly Sam Nunn. Former NATO Supreme Commander Wesley Clark and General Zinni have been mentioned as possible running mates with national security bona fides for either Obama or, in the unlikely case, Senator Clinton. But Sam Nunn, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and a former United States Senator from the Golden Age of Senators has injected himself into the thick of things with his endorsement of the Senator from Illinois.

Nunn, who, unlike General Wesley Clark, actually endorsed the front runner, also has deep roots in the national security and foreign policy establishment, meaning that he would offset Obama's relative inexperience, and he might bring into play Georgia, a state which has a high concentration of African-American voters and which Obama won in the primaries.

Bayh, a perennial mention as a Democratic running mate (Clinton, 42 looked him over), is a legacy of the Hoosier state and considered the only Democrat who could conceivably -- though not guaranteed -- bring over the statewide vote in heavily Republican Indiana. From TheHill:

"Sen. Evan Bayh does not appear on Tuesday’s Pennsylvania presidential primary ballot, but the Indiana Democrat’s political future and his state’s role in choosing the Democratic nominee are directly tied to the contest.

"A comfortable win in Pennsylvania for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) keeps the former first lady competitive against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and increases the importance of Indiana’s May 6 primary.

"It also helps Bayh, a former two-term governor and son of U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh who has been mentioned as a possible Clinton running mate. He’s been busy traveling his home turf with the New York senator, helping her chip away at Obama’s lead.

"Should Clinton win Pennsylvania by only a few percentage points, or on the off chance lose, the Hoosier State — and Bayh — could see a big opportunity slip away."

Senator Hillary Clinton needs to beat Barack Obama tonight by ten percentage points or more to keep her momentum going, then unearth the Edwards endorsement, then win both North Carolina and Indiana and win the popular vote -- which she presently trails by about 700,000 votes -- in order to turn these things around at the denver convention. More here.

A Little Of The Old In And Out



In: Rupert Murdoch. Michael Bloomberg has, at least for the moment, shot down reports that Bloomberg LLC might be interested in buying the embattled Gray Lady (As, for the record, has Sulzberger), which leaves Rupert Murdoch -- especially if he beats out Mort Zuckerman for Newsday -- as the 800 lb gorilla in the New York Media room. Still, the mayor is thoroughly unpredictable, so the issue is still opaque as to what final decision or lack of a decision Bloomberg makes. From The Observer:

"The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sam Zell's Newsday is close to being sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for $580 million. The story is sourced to people familiar with the situation, and that both parties 'have informally agreed on key aspects, including the price, structure and governance.'

"If the deal is done, Newsday would become a 'joint-venture' with The New York Post. What exactly that means is unclear."

(image via impeachforpeace)

Out: Senator Ted Stevens. Crusty, shrill bastard! Almost singlehandedly Senator Ted Stevens has forced the issue of despoiling Alaska's pristine landscape to ANWAR drilling. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican member of the Senate, then Chair of the mighty Appropriations Committe in 2005, actually attached drilling to the paychecks of soldiers in Iraq! Damn cheek! Well, he's in for the run of his life. Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, announced he would oppose Senator Ted Stevens in November. If, as all indicators indicate, the Democrats will gain the White House, it is not inconceivable that large coattails may even sweep a Democrat into an ordinarily safe Republican seat in the great state of Alaska.



(image via nighthawkcomics)

In: Frank Miller, Director. As someone who, as a child -- and to this day -- absolutely loved the gritty noir of Miller's run with Daredevil, it will be interesting to see if he can translate comics, the ultimate storyboards, into film. From Cinematical:

"Frank Miller's place in comic book history is already secure, but these days, he's aiming to leave a sizable IMDB entry too. Miller revealed exclusively to MTV Movies that not only is there renewed interest in a film adaptation of his comic miniseries Hard Boiled, but that he's hoping to direct it himself. 'We're talking about [it]. I've got a really unusual way I want to do it.'

"After co-directing Sin City, and helming The Spirit himself, he's officially caught the bug. 'I'm in love with directing. I've found a way to expand my career. Comics and directing are really two sides of the same coin. That's what Robert Rodriguez taught me ... good drama is good drama.'"

Out: The Beckhams Coming Out Parties. Bill Clinton held a shameless series of birthday parties to raise money for his wife's campaign (and, on the DL, to remind us of his relevance), but we expect that from the man. He has no shame. He has no chic. But one expects chic from Posh Spice who, clearly, through this endless series of birthday parties, is holding her own "coming out" party in Los Angeles. The Olympics are to China what these obnoxious birthday parties are to The Beckhams as Hollywood social force. From Thisislondon:

"This year, Posh Spice has extended her birthday to five days of celebrating.

"On Wednesday - the night before her birthday - she invited Kate Beckinsale and director husband Len and Desperate Housewives star Eva to dine at the latter's new Hollywood restaurant Beso.

Victoria's actual birthday on Thursday was a family affair as she and husband David took their three sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz to the Pink Taco restaurant chain in a Century City shopping mall."

Media-Whore D'Oevres



(image via utb.edu)

"Russia has written off Libya's USD4.5 billion Soviet-era debt in exchange for "multibillion dollar" contracts in a move that could potentially ease the way towards the signing of a series of defence export accords. The announcement - reported by Russian state information service RIA Novosti on 17 April - coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the North African state and followed the 14 April announcement that the two countries were discussing military contracts valued at a total of USD2.5 billion." (Janes)

"Amanda Lepore raised an eyebrow or four late last week as part of her guest DJing stint at the Vinyl Vixen Thursdays party at L.A.'s Whiskey Blue Lounge at the W Hotel." (Papermag)

"Down at Michael’s Jolie Hunt was celebrating her birthday. Meanwhile I was being lunched by four women – Allison Rockefeller, Leslie Stevens, Anne Colley and Cynthia Lufkin. These girls had something else on their mind besides birthdays. They are planning the Audubon Society’s Women In Conservation Luncheon 2008 Rachel Carson Awards, which will be held Tuesday, May 20th at the Plaza. They will be honoring Teresa Heinz Kerry and Bette Midler as well as five women from the Central Park Conservancy – Jean Clark, Norma Dana, Marguerite Purnell, Elizabeth Barlow Rogers and posthumously Phyllis Cerf Wagner. These are all women who have made a difference in the neighborhood, the big neighborhood." (NYSocialDiary)

"The 13th Annual Nantucket Film Festival announced that Judd Apatow will receive the Suzanne and Bob Wright Screenwriter's Tribute Award during the fest, while Meg Ryan will be honored with the Compass Rose Acting Tribute Award. Ryan will be on hand to present the second Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award, which gives a cash prize to a promising female writer/director at the festival.: (Indiewire)

Corsair Classic

The Roger Stone Therapy Session



(image via nydailynews via flickr)

NY1's Inside City Hall is like a genteel dinner conversation about municipal New York City conversation among of the most acute observers of the scene. Last night was no different. Roger Stone, the , uh, "colorful" political advisor wholly without shame, was on. Venting, Stone plumbed the depths of his seedy consciousness, revealing -- eew -- some curious tidbits about his involvement in uncovering the Spitzer scandal. From NY1:

"In the interview, which aired Monday night on 'Inside City Hall,'Stone revealed that a woman he met at an adult club in Florida told him about Spitzer's illegal activities.

"'She was a high-priced call girl, she worked for a service,'said Stone. 'The service got a call to send somebody for an assignation with Eliot Spitzer, but he specified that he wanted a brunette, and this woman had just become a blonde, so the call went to someone else in the service.'"

Stone also volunteered that he was the one who told the FBI that Spitzer kept on black socks during the "encounters." Eew.

VanDen Heuvel: If Hillary Wins, Tina Fey Ought To Have A Corner Office



Today Nation editor Katrina Van Den Heuvel told Joy Behar on Air America, "If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, (Tina Fey) better have a corner office, she has come in at critical moments to try to make this campaign cool.”

Corsair Classic

Media-Whore d'Oevres



"Attention spendy Republicans: for just $1000 you can hang out with President Bush at the Connecticut home of evil old war criminal Henry Kissinger next weekend." (Wonkette)

"Less than a week after the Barneys New York team joined forces with Bottega Veneta to host a dinner at Barneys Greengrass in honor of Albert Maysles, they rounded up a cool group of hipsters with GQ for a sit-down meal hosted by Chris Huvane and Jason Schwartzman celebrating Band of Outsiders' spring collection ... Roman Coppola, Simon Doonan, Bret Easton Ellis, Jacqui Getty (Schwartzman's cousin), Julie Gilhart, Carla Gugino, Kevin Huvane, Bettina Korek, Gabriel Mann, Jennifer Morrison, and Tom Kalenderian, who spent the cocktail hour showing guests samples of Sternberg's fabric, all gathered around tables lined with red Gerber daisies and rananculus as they chowed down on the surf-and-turf menu of corn on the cob, filet mignon, and lobster." (Fashionweekdaily)

"At least until today, when Thais turned their eyes back on Asia after a bid from their ancient rival, Vietnam, shook up the rice markets. Rice exporters have lately been bidding to fill the demand from the Philippines, which is said to require at least 500,000 tones of rice on this go around. For medium quality rice, $900 per ton is what $100 a barrel was to light sweet crude: a psychological breakpoint. Vietnam just asked for $1,200 per ton for 25% (read: pretty crappy) rice.That price has sent shock waves across Asia." (Dealbreaker)

"Lindsay Lohan continued to support good friend Samantha Ronson, hanging out at Times Square's Hawaiian Tropic Zone as Ronson spun tunes from midnight to 4 a.m. Sunday. The pair arrived together, both wearing black leather jackets, right on time at 12 a.m. A blond-haired Lohan stationed herself at a table directly behind Ronson's deejay booth in the second level VIP section, which overlooked a packed dance floor." (People)

"Another week, another tase of Scarlett doing Waits. Nothing's changing about our feelings on this record: it is barely average, with decent-to-good Sitek production, forgettable vocals, and fabulous guest spots. We listened to it at Joe's Pub over the winter and stand by our premature evaluation, right down 'Falling Down' being the least bad song on there (congrats everybody!). David Bowie makes his way into the swirling, swelling mix to remind you what a charismatic singing voice sounds like, and Sitek plies enough snowy white space into the latter half to please (read: distract you from what Scarlett's shortcomings)." (Stereogum)

Artie Lange Returns



(image via crumbakeshop)

The disfunctional charm of Artie Lange has worn off. For his unprofessional behavior -- needing to be restrained from physically attacking a guest -- we give the slatternly mornign co-host Artie Lange, the gasface. What, we ask, is so hard about going to bed at a decent hour, waking up, getting in at 5 am, making great radio and making millions -- via comedy appearances and Sirius salary -- in the process? Still, Lange continuously tempts the fates that were so good as to get him this plum gig. And, oddly, the Sirius corporate gang gave him another chance, which, clearly, he will find a way to blow (Averted Gaze). From phillyBurbs:

"The biggest question on the mind of Howard Stern fans for the last week was answered just after 6:00 a.m. this morning when they heard the voice of a contrite Artie Lange.

"Stern’s sidekick was back on the show following an on-air blowup Thursday, April 17 10. Lange took full responsibility for his actions - which included throwing a water bottle at his assistant - and apologized to Stern, Sirius employees, and the fans.

"No word of disciplinary actions, but Stern said Lange met with Sirius brass who were not happy about the incident. Stern and Robin Quivers also said there will be no more chances for Lange."

So, let us get this straight: It is okay on the Stern Show for an employee to throw a water bottle at a guest and attempt to knock him out. It is also okay to basically fall asleep at work roughly two to three days a week and still draw a handsome salary. Nice precedent setting, Sirius corporate; nice ... precedent.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages ...



It's all right; It's not a Party unless something gets broken. (image via thecobrasnake)



And For Your Entertainment, ladies and gentlemen, watch this hapless Club Kid transform Vodka into partially digested liquid "beef cheeks"! (image via thecobrasnake)



Busted by the Cabaret Unit? Hardly. Busted, Dear Reader, by God, in His Sweet And Just Magnificence. (image via thecobrasnake)



Rachel Zoe, as always, seeming to be in need of a robust multivitamin ... (image via nysocialdiary)



Zac -- Irony Entirely Intended Here -- "Posen". (image via nysocialdiary)



He's Kookoo for Coco-puffs. (image via rhapsody)

A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via nydailynews)

In: Michael Bloomberg. Newspapers are the new black. Embattled, billionaires are now looking to up their prestige factor by snagging some ink. Could the media-mogul NYC mayor -- fresh off his thwarted Sheekey-run for the Presidency -- be in line to acquire the crown jewel of publishing? Bloomberg has already told Charlie Rose that he is interested in pursuing philanthropy after his term expires, is the Gray Lady that charity? From Newsweek:

"Not since William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal challenged Joseph Pulitzer's New York World in the late 19th century has there been such a clash of newspaper titans. As was the case when Hearst took on Pulitzer, Murdoch—the son of an Australian journalist—still believes newspapers are the most influential media for shaping the public discourse, even in this new-media century. The fight could escalate in unknown ways if billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ends up acquiring the Times. As NEWSWEEK has learned, top associates of the onetime information executive are encouraging him to do just that."

(image via wgmd)

Out: Clintonian Tactics. Michael Moore has blasted the way the Senator has run her race. And, as everything in this election, Moore's remarks are gathering heated response. But he's not the only one: Senator Ted Kennedy, enraged at the filthy racialism injected into Bill Clinton's ghettoization attempt after the South Carolina primary, embraced the Obama campaign. And in this weekend's devastating New York Times article on how "Friends-of-Bill" are migrating in these last days:

"Perhaps most painful among Clintonites are the lower-profile defections. They are the losses of former supporters like (Nancy) Larson, people who revered the Clintons in the 1990s and still regard them highly. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clinton called Mrs. Larson on her cellphone earlier this year, telling her how much they needed her. Mrs. Larson even declared her support for Mrs. Clinton in mid-January.

"But then the race got nasty in South Carolina, and Mr. Obama started winning and Mrs. Larson started reconsidering. 'There was something about Senator Obama that I found really fresh and exciting,' she said. 'I like how positive he has been.' She also spoke of 'the destructive negativity' of the Clinton campaign.

"Then Chelsea Clinton called a second time, last Saturday night, and kept asking 'why?'

"'I didn’t want to get into my reasons,' Mrs. Larson said. 'I just told her it was something I had to do.'"

In: The Colbert Report. The whole Pennsylvania promotion thing worked. Colbert and Jon Stewart and Chris Matthews actually do better, it seems, when they travel on location. Just watching the energy levels of those college kids and anxious voters bears this out. Now so do the ratings. From The New York Post:

"Forget the VH1 show title - last week was Stephen Colbert's 'Best Week Ever.' Comedy Central's 'Colbert Report,' going on location for its first time (to Philadelphia), averaged 1.5 million viewers - a new series record - and also shattered records in men 18-34 and persons 18-49."

(image via politico)

Out: The Debt/Credit Crisis. We observed the credit crisis firsthand reporting on the media for FishbowlNY. Barry Diller, last July, was the first media mogul "pinched" by the crisis. Since then it has been a roller-coaster, mostly in the downward spiral. Barry Gewen reviews Kevin Phillips' new book -- a sober analysis of the debt crisis -- in the NYTBR:

"The 1980s were the start of 'three profligate decades,' when the expansion of mortgage credit and the invention of financial instruments like collateralized debt obligations (C.D.O.’s) led to an orgy of leveraging and irresponsible speculation. The Federal Reserve kept the bubble afloat with easy money, while regulators and ratings agencies looked the other way.

"By 2007 total indebtedness was three times the size of the gross domestic product, a ratio that surpassed the record set in the years of the Great Depression. From 2001 to 2007 alone, domestic financial debt grew to $14.5 trillion from $8.5 trillion, and home mortgage debt ballooned to almost $10 trillion from $4.9 trillion, an increase of 102 percent. A crisis in the mortgage market in August 2007 brought the party to an end. Since then we have been living in a twilight zone of what a security analyst quoted in the book calls 'one of the slowest-moving train wrecks we’ve seen.'"

Swell. More here.



(image via televisioncity)

In: Teens And Soap Operas. And how have soap operas fared in this multimedia universe? Peopled by characters salaciously named "Thorne" and ... "Brooke." Who among us has time for all those baroque soap opera faces -- to wit: "Hasselhoff's Goddam Cleft Chin" -- with all the election drama and the myriad awesometastic cable show that didn't exist a decade ago. Teens, apparently; cause viewership is up -- at CBS, at least. From Media Life Magazine:

"A big reason for the CBS soaps’ increase seems to be that the network is doing a good job targeting younger viewers through stunt casting, outside tie-ins and relevant storylines.

"CBS has recruited personalities known to 12-17s who wouldn’t seem a natural fit for daytime, like former 'American Idol' contestants Constantine Maroulis and Elliott Yamin on 'Bold' and, most recently, Kathy Hilton, mom of heiress and tabloid queen Paris, who will appear in the May 13 'Restless.'

"The network also recently engineered a smart tie-in with sister broadcaster the CW. Contestants on the latter’s 'Beauty and the Geek' reality show paid a visit to the 'Restless' set, where actors on the show evaluated contestants in an acting contest."