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Courtesy of rickey.org
Photo: Patrick McMullan, Getty Images, Reuters
Wall Street Winners Get Billion-Dollar Paydays [NYT]
Alpha’s Top Moneymakers [Alpha magazine]
Go ahead, drool.Photo: JB REED/Bloomberg News/Landov
The rocks, you see, served as collateral for a loan issued by Merrill Lynch to Esmerian so he could acquire Fred Leighton, the company that blings out many a star on the red carpet and iced Catherine Zeta-Jones on her wedding day (fun fact: Esmerian tapped Martha Stewart's once-jailed, former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic to be CEO). But now Esmerian owes Merrill Lynch more than $180 million, and according to the bank, he stopped making payments in September. Filing for Chapter 11 prevents creditors from collecting on their debt; in doing so yesterday, Esmerian bought himself some more time to start paying his overdue bills, whether or not he deserves it.
Merrill Lynch had been pushing in courts the past few days for the auction to proceed. When a judge ruled yesterday that the auction would go forward, Esmerian filed for Chapter 11 as a last-ditch attempt. Esmerian's lawyer said it was something they wanted to avoid but needed to prevent an "out of control Wall Street investment bank from making a cash grab which will destroy a viable business." Merrill Lynch is asking for the auction to go forward no later than tomorrow. Christie's spent more than half a million dollars marketing the darn thing, so they want it to go forward, too, but in our humble opinion, it doesn't sound like they're being as pushy as the bank. Another hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. this morning. Will the auction go forward? Will the jewels fetch their worth? Will Peter Bacanovic get in trouble again? Stay tuned.
Esmerian Files Chapter 11 for Fred Leighton [WWD]
On Again, Off Again, on Again Auction Is Not to Be ... Yet [NYT]
EVENTS
• Take a well-deserved break and come aboard the Softsoap® Spa Radiant™ Double Decker Mobile Spa Tour Bus or a ten-minute loop in midtown Manhattan. 4/16; 33rd St. at Seventh Ave., southeast corner.
• Get to know the man behind Chado Ralph Rucci's eye-catching fur coats and sharp trousers. Ralph Rucci makes a personal appearance this afternoon at Bergdorf Goodman. Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Ave., at 57th St., fourth fl. (212-753-7300); 2–4.
SALES:
STARTING TODAY
• The Clothing Line sample sale features newly reduced prices off the Converse by John Varvatos collection, Hickey men's clothes, and Kooba bags, with prices up to 75 percent off retail. At Converse, score a men's polo for $35 or a dress for $100. At Hickey for men, try two pairs of trousers for $100 total, while at Kooba a few handbags and clutches are still available. Through 4/17. 261 W. 36th St., nr. Seventh Ave., second fl.; Wed. (10–6); Thurs. (10–7).
• John Hardy makes handmade jewelry inspired by the ancient culture of Bali. For two days many of his designs are on sale. Men’s and women’s jewelry in sterling silver, gold, diamonds, and gemstones are 60 to 75 percent off retail. Through 4/17. 601 W. 26th St., nr. Eleventh Ave., nineteenth fl. (212-219-4288); Wed.–Thurs. (10–5).
• Coats, dresses, tops, and skirts from past seasons are marked 30 to 40 percent off at Walter. Today only. 265 W. 37th St., nr. Seventh Ave., fifth fl. (212-391-9400); 10–6.
ENDING TODAY
• The Patti Rose sample sale featured designers like Christian Lacroix, Blumarine, Roberto Cavalli, Pucci, Gucci, Bill Blass, and more up to 75 percent off. Patti’s sales happen once a month, and they're hit-and-miss. New York Genealogical Society Building, 122-126 E. 58th St., nr. Lexington Ave., ground fl. (917-533-8251); Mon. (4–7); Tues. (9–7); Wed. (9–5).
STARTING TOMORROW
• The Upper West Side isn't the typical hot spot for designer shopping, but BOC is slashing prices on Alexander Wang, Vivienne Westwood, and Barbara Bui by 50 to 80 percent; a 3.1 Phillip Lim coat is now $220. 491 Columbus Ave., nr. 83rd St. (212-362-5405); 4/17–4/19 (noon–8).
• Diane Von Furstenberg's December resort collection is 70 percent off online only at the DVF.com “secret” sale. Through 4/21.
ENDING TOMORROW
• Hickey — the more youthful, less expensive spinoff of Hickey Freeman — is taking up to 75 percent off suits and casualwear. 261 W. 36th St., nr. Seventh Ave., second fl.; Sun. (11–6); Mon. and Wed. (10–6); Tues. and Thurs. (10–7).
ONLINE
• The Simply Vera by Vera Wang collection at Kohl’s is now 25 to 55 percent off online. The border pencil skirt is now $32 (originally $54), and the jewel color-block dress is only $44 (originally $88).
Photo: Getty Images
'SKY CUBES' MELTDOWN [NYP]
Ground Zero transit center faces big delays, budget-busting overruns [NYDN]
Bust This Boondoggle [NYDN]
Photo: Getty Images
Bloom Running in Circles: Orlando Bloom will star in Studio Canal's remake of Alain Delon's 1970 crime thriller, Le Cercle Rouge. As Bloom recently declared war on color by painting his mansion entirely black, don't be surprised if the title changes to Le Cercle Noir. [HR]
Broadway Feels Desire: Chicago's Goodman Theater will bring its upcoming revival of Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms to Broadway. Directed by Robert Falls and starring Brian Dennehy, the production will be the first of the play on Broadway since 1952. Back then, gas was only 27 cents a gallon, postage was 3 cents, and a three-hour revival of Eugene O'Neill's ninth-best play presumably cost less than $100. [Variety]
Jovovich Is Kind: Milla Jovovich will star in The 4th Kind, a fact-based thriller about a small Alaskan town where people have been disappearing for 40 years. Jovovich will play a visiting woman investigating the mystery, and at some point we guess all kinds of futuristic zombies will show up. [HR]
Weiner in ABC's Shoes: Best-selling novelist Jennifer Weiner has signed an overall deal with ABC to create series projects. The network is banking on a repeat of her success from books like In Her Shoes, Little Earthquakes, and Good in Bed. They're also apparently banking on the success of Grand Theft Auto 4 to occupy their male audience. [HR]
One Day at Fenway (Baseball stadium timelapse):
Topography (notebook stop-motion):
One Day (like that sequence in Snatch but spread out):
On This Day, Years Ago, You Emerged From Your Mother's Va-jay (surprisingly adorable):
"I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts," the star of 'And God created woman' and 'Contempt' said.
Bardot has previously said France is being invaded by sheep-slaughtering Muslims and published a book attacking gays, immigrants and the unemployed, in which she also lamented the "Islamisation of France".
Thank God she demanded her singing not be used in my favorite Serge Gainsbourg song back in the 60s, because otherwise I'd have to now burn my iPod or something.
[Reuters]
Not as cute Magibon:
She's reportedly 21 and from Florida; anyone who can translate, please do in the comments.
The rumba can be rough on everyone, even rock 'n' roll royalty.
Priscilla Presley was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars Tuesday, leaving seven celebs to vie for the venerable...
The Law & Order universe is seeking another Special prosecutor.
Diane Neal, who has played Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak on L&O: SVU since 2003, is leaving after this...
Deborah Gibson apparently doesn't appreciate strange men showing up on her doorstep out of the blue.
The singer, who went by "Debbie" in the Electric Youth era, filed Tuesday...
Sam Lutfi is remaining on the sidelines.
E! News has exclusively learned that Britney Spears' erstwhile manager and right-hand man will not be appearing in court Wednesday to fight the...
Sure, you're all smiles now.Photo: Patrick McMullan
Related: Rupe’s Attack Dog Gets Bitten, Keeps Barking
Earlier: Takashi Murakami's Art Is Really Hard to Describe
Superflatbush [NYM]
No. Do not want.Photo: Patrick McMullan
THE RACHEL ZOE PROJECT Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, will star in the docu-drama "The Rachel Zoe Project", along with her trusted inner circle – husband Rodger and fashion team, Taylor and Brad, as they endeavor to take Zoe's business to the next level. In the series, the perfectly styled, go-to force among "it" starlets, fashion houses, beauty firms and magazine editors will give viewers a fly on the wall look at how she juggles constant deadlines, fashion shows and celebrity clients.
Oh, good: Her business is going to be taken to the "next level." We hope it involves dressing up her dogs in teeny-tiny slouchy dresses and giant doggy sunglasses! Even worse, the release doesn't give an air date. Which means this thing is gonna sneak up on us all when we least expect it. When we're not looking. When we're the most vulnerable. —Jessica Coen
Earlier: The Real ‘Project Runway’ Drama Between Weinstein and NBC
The Gap's New Design Editions.Photo: Courtesy of Gap
• The line is also in stores. Though it didn't exactly inspire a vicious shopping frenzy, a sales associate at the Gap on Fifth Avenue and 17th Street said about 200 sold within the store's first half-hour of business. [Racked]
• Guess what! Charleston is having a Fashion Week. Guess what else! A poor designer fell through the runway when she took her bow at the end of the show. The video clip isn't even funny, it's just painful. [Fashion Week Daily]
• There's a new show on WE called Bulging Brides, in which women buy wedding dresses two sizes too small and try to fit into them by the big day with an insane exercise routine. Here's a clip, pole-dancing workout included. [Feministing]
• Here's another video clip of Simon Doonan explaining to Mo Rocca his philosophy on how women should dress. "Say no to ho!" he says. Unless, of course, "at heart" you're a pole dancer. [Fashionista]
• The Les Biches collection by Ostwald Helgason is really quite stunning and Giles Deacon–esque. And no, it doesn't mean "the bitches" — it refers to a Ballets Russes production. [Style Bubble]
Photo: Getty Images
Idol Finalists to Shriek: Tonight on American Idol, the seven remaining singers will perform music made famous by Mariah Carey. The fact that it's April will, sadly, preclude any of them from doing her best song. [Reality TV]
Incredible Coincidence: The eagle-eyed nerds at io9 have noticed that the awesome new poster for The Incredible Hulk looks pretty much exactly the same as the famous cover for The Amazing Spider-Man, issue #50. Also, the movie itself bears a few passing similarities to 2003's Hulk. [io9]
Neal Leaves L&O: Diane Neal, better known as Senior Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak, is leaving Law & Order after five years. Why? No one knows! [Daily Intel]
No Reality Show for Axl: Via Guns N' Roses' official Website, Axl Rose has announced that rumors about a reality show based on his life are completely untrue. He also denies that he is working on an album. [Official site via Idolator]
Priscilla PresleyPhoto illustration: Getty Images, istockphoto
• Beauty Water claims to smooth skin with an anti-acne protein that works by fighting bacteria. We're not sure if it really works, but the packaging is really quite lovely. [Bella Sugar]
MAKEUP
• The Dress Camp collection by M.A.C, replete with zebra packaging, will be sold exclusively in Asian boutiques. However, M.A.C PRO stores and M.A.C Soho locations have a limited supply available starting today. Run, don't walk! [Specktra Beauty News]
• Tarte cosmetics partnered with BriteSmile to launch Embrightenment, a lip gloss that also whitens teeth and comes in red or pink. What will they think of next? [WWD]
FRAGRANCE
• Virgin Atlantic launched their new leather-sofa-inspired fragrance, Le Cuir, in Australia. They call it “the aromatic equivalent to the relaxed feeling of sinking into a posh leather seat.” Because we've always wanted to smell like a nice new Jaguar. [Live News Australia]
• The John Varvatos for Women fragrance is billed as “bottled sensuality.” One sampler said it's more appropriate for a night out than the office. [Mischo Beauty]
This ad is SO ironic today.Photo: Courtesy of EA Fragrances
The participating fragrances are Missoni, Gucci by Gucci, Paris Hilton’s Can Can and Usher. Filmmakers are encouraged to highlight their love of fragrance, fashion and music by creating a short story film for any of these fragrances … While originality and creativity are encouraged, all participants are asked to express one or all of the emotions and adjectives evoked by each brand. These include iconic, feminine and luxurious for Gucci by Gucci, fresh, sensual and playful for Missoni, flirty, fun and fascinating for Paris Hilton’s Can Can, and fresh, confident and sexy for Usher … Films should not contain any explicit content or showcase the fragrance in a negative light.
With that treasure trove of adjectives, you shouldn't be short on inspiration. The winning film will be shown at the awards ceremony, so a lot of major designers, and perhaps even Anna Wintour, will be there to watch with their very own, very fabulous eyes. Find a full release about the contest after the jump.
VOGUE AND THE FRAGRANCE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE THE INAUGURAL FRAGRANCE & FILM FESTIVAL Aspiring Filmmakers Called to Produce Short Films Inspired by Nominated Fragrances
New York, NY – March 31, 2008 – In honor of the 36th Annual FIFI® Awards, where each year the best of the new fragrances are honored , Vogue and The Fragrance Foundation present the first-ever Fragrance & Film Festival. This inaugural opportunity provides a chance for aspiring filmmakers nationwide to tell a provocative, fantastical story about one of the featured 2008 FiFi-nominated fragrances with a two-to three-minute short film.
The participating fragrances are Missoni, Gucci by Gucci, Paris Hilton’s Can Can and Usher. Filmmakers are encouraged to highlight their love of fragrance, fashion and music by creating a short story film for any of these fragrances. The winner will receive $10,000 and two tickets to the 2008 FIFI® Awards in New York City, where their award-winning short film will be shown to an audience of fragrance industry leaders and celebrities.
While originality and creativity are encouraged, all participants are asked to express one or all of the emotions and adjectives evoked by each brand. These include iconic, feminine and luxurious for Gucci by Gucci, fresh, sensual and playful for Missoni, flirty, fun and fascinating for Paris Hilton’s Can Can, and fresh, confident and sexy for Usher.Rochelle Bloom, President of The Fragrance Foundation, said “We are excited about partnering again with Vogue during the FIFI’s® and offering the ability for young filmmakers to combine their love of production with fashion and fragrance. Each participating fragrance brand is eager to see the short films that best reflect the emotions evoked by their scent.”
Filmmakers can submit their films for consideration at www.fragranceandfilm.com by May 1, 2008. The grand prize winner will also receive national exposure on ShopVogue.tv. Winners will be chosen based on creativity and ability to express the brand identity of each featured fragrance. The competition will first be available for online rating by the general public. The four highest rated fragrances will be reviewed by a panel of judges to determine the grand prize winner. Films should not contain any explicit content or showcase the fragrance in a negative light. For detailed contest rules and guidelines visit www.fragranceandfilm.com
Established in 1949, The Fragrance Foundation is a non-profit, educational organization whose mission is to enhance the image of the Fragrance Industry to the public and expand the appreciation and use of fragrance in all its forms across all distribution channels globally.
###
Photo: Getty Images
2. Oppenheimer, "Look Up"
This infectiously twee Belfast pop group thinks "the people in the city who always look up at the spaces in the buildings" are deep thinkers. Here, they're just the tourists. [Culture of Me]
3. The Hold Steady, "Stay Positive" (live)
Craig Finn expresses his preference to be called "old-school" rather than simply "old," then sings a song about being old. [Rawking Refuses to Stop]
4. Razorbloodz, "(Everything I Need to Know About Gender Theory I Learned From) Mrs. Doubtfire"
The song's not bad, it's just that we've never actually learned anything from Robin Williams. [Heartache with Hard Work]
5. Re-Up Gang, "What's Up"
The Re-Up Gang is preparing a new mix tape which should be finished shortly. To hold you off, here's an old track, an excellent primer on the manufacture and distribution of illegal narcotics. [So Much Silence]
—Ehren Gresehover
Apparently someone forgot that whole "Thou Shalt Not Steal" dealie.
An accountant at a Los Angeles-based business management company pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges...Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine’s celebratory and dazzlingly scenic documentary is Bring It On, Uganda style — which means the rough-and-tumble northern dance troupe fighting for the national title comprises kids from a refugee camp, some whose parents have been murdered, some who were abducted into rebel armies as mere babes. It’s Africa lite, but the movie lets us think of these kids as talented, funny, self-aware characters, rather than victims. And their dynamo tribal-dance numbers are flooring.
For American Idol, Sanjaya is the curse that keeps mucking things up.
Since the one who needs no last name was asked to turn in his mic last year, Tuesday's Idol has lost, on average, nearly...
Photo: Getty Images
Natasha Poly at the Alessandro Dell’Acqua showPhoto: imaxtree
The French parliament's lower house adopted a groundbreaking bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone — including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites — to publicly incite extreme thinness.The National Assembly approved the bill in a series of votes Tuesday, after the legislation won unanimous support from the ruling conservative UMP party. It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks
Yeah, it's like whoa. If passed this would be the strongest legislation against skinny models ever in the whole world — but it's vague. When Spain banned rail-thin models from the catwalk in 2006, they used BMI as an indicator. In this case, however, there doesn't seem to be an official benchmark for the girls; a judge would decide if the medium "incited" thinness (as Websites, etc., are the main targets). Conservative lawmaker Valerie Boyer wrote the law:
It would give judges the power to imprison and fine offenders up to $47,000 if found guilty of "inciting others to deprive themselves of food" to an "excessive" degree, Ms. Boyer said in a telephone interview before the parliamentary session.Judges could also sanction those responsible for a magazine photo of a model whose "excessive thinness ... altered her health," she said.
Naturally the French fashion industry is having fits over this. "Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny," said Didier Grumbach, president of the French Federation of Couture. "That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France." Well, he'll at least have a few weeks to start adjusting to the idea.
French Lawmakers Target Promotion of Extreme Thinness [AP/WSJ]
Photo illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Hulton Archive/Getty
Images, Retrofile/Getty Images
As reported in yesterday's Times (we didn't see it until today because we were busy stockpiling water and canned food), Philip Parker, a professor of management science at Insead business school, is programming computers to search and collate information into custom-ordered books. In other words: He doesn't write the books, a robot does.
The article credits Parker with 200,000 titles. For now, the books focus on subjects so arcane and/or technical that it isn't worth the money for humans to write about them (this is the same publishing model followed by academic presses). What's troubling, though, is that they're just practicing. In the future, humans will likely cling to the fact that, while the robot army may have overwhelming robot tactical and logistical advantages, they'll never have the human spirit: the ability to love, to feel, to write poetry. But then we'll all find out that, in fact, the last 25 poet laureates and National Book Award winners … were actually robots!!! Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!
In any case, we hope someone sent from the future destroys these robot authors — partly because we don’t want to be destroyed by the machines, and partly because we are pretty well out of robot-war jokes. But we'll do what we have to if more news comes along — because, while we may run out of punch lines… [adopts growly, inspiring Bill Pullman voice]… we'll never run out of hope. —Ben Mathis-Lilley
He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work) [NYT]
Earlier: Do Two Recent Novels About China Obscure the Looming Robot Threat? Yes
Oh, Lord.Photo: Courtesy of MTV
We open with Heidi visiting Audrina on a lunch break. When did these two become so buddy-buddy? Didn't we end last week with Audrina telling Lauren that Heidi could stick it? These girls have no week-to-week consistency! Heidi blathers on about her "break" with Spencer. "I'm gaining myself," Heidi says, though by "gaining" we assume she means "radically altering my physical appearance with gratuitous plastic surgery." She then says she desperately needs a girls' night out and begs Audrina to come … so that she's not hitting the bars alone? She doesn't have any other friends, right? During this entire conversation, Audrina just stares at Whitney, awkwardly smiles, and blinks a lot. And says, "Yeeeah…" Good ol' Audrina: You can always count on her to agree with whatever you say. Cut to credits, and we're feeling the rain on our skin. Onward!
Whitney's on the job at People's Revolution, where she's in the middle of model casting for L.A. Fashion Week. Lots of tall, skinny girls mill about as Lauren comes in to work as a helper, or whatever the excuse for hiring her was. Boss-lady Kelly Cutrone enters in all her under-eye bag glory and instructs the girls to keep track of all the models. A very hot guy's abs flash across the screen. "Oh, my God," says Kelly. Or did we say that? Does it even matter? Anyhow, Kelly yells that the girls are working too slowly and then takes the time to insult that woman Jessica, yet again. Poor Jessica — a real employee, subjected to this treatment. Her lipstick looks pretty, at least.
Meanwhile, Spencer and Stephanie are at her apartment (which Spencer is still scrubbily living in). He and his horrible, horrible blond facial hair quiz Stephanie about where she's going for the night. She tells him she's heading to S Bar, and Spencer knows that Heidi will also be there. He strokes his unattractive beard as he hatches an evil plan. All this guy needs is a cat named Azreal and a bald spot, and he'd give Gargamel a real run for his money. And you know what? Heidi kind of looks like Smurfette. But with bigger boobs.
Over at S Bar, Audrina, Stephanie, and Heidi are hanging out and talking shit about relationships. Audrina informs us that she doesn't want to be in one (until Justin Bobby returns, we hope!), to which Stephanie replies, "That's the best — you're so young!" Ha! How old is Stephanie? 23? But we must say, it's not idiotic advice. Heidi calls Stephanie "the encourager of single women." Okay, we're not wont to come to Spencer's defense, but what the hell, Stephanie? If our sister was telling our ex (whom we desperately wanted to get back with) to stay single, we'd be really, really mad at her, too. Sister, take note.
Yet all that sympathy leaves the instant we see Spencer and his lame-o friend Kevin walk into S Bar and start flirting with girls in front of Heidi. She is rightly angry and wonders, How did Spencer know we were coming here? Stephanie just looks away, guiltily, and we are thrilled — finally, the duplicity we have been so promised! And then: Heidi freaks out. And it's hilarious. "I will kill some bitch if she comes up to him," she says. "I want to smash his face in!" All perfectly normal reactions. If you're in an asylum. Heidi confronts Spencer and they have a blowout in front of the bar bathroom. Heidi is mad at Spencer for flirting with girls in front of her; Spencer doesn't think he's doing anything wrong, blah blah blah.
The next day, Audrina is folding laundry on her bed when Lauren comes in to ask her what she did the night before. Of course. Audrina launches into the story of last night, and seriously, this is the most animated we've seen Audrina … ever. She tells Lauren about how Heidi and Spencer are on a "relationship vacation," and about their fight at the bar, and uses the word "like" about 37 times. Lauren isn't as mad about the fact that Audrina was hanging out with Heidi as we expected she'd be, but she does add this gem: "It wouldn't surprise me if Heidi and Spencer tried to be friends with you because I get along with Stephanie." Um … wha? If anyone can explain the self-involved logic that went into Lauren's typically condescending conclusion, you win a blue ribbon. Because we certainly can't.
Back to fashion-show madness with Kelly Cutrone: We're treated to a short scene punctuating AGAIN how much Jessica sucks in light of the shiny new employees. There's some sort of lighting issue with the runway that Whitney takes over from her. God, this woman is getting thrown under the bus.
Over at Heidi's fake job, Heidi pours her heart out to Kimberly about her Spencer troubles. We're not really listening to what she says, but are Kimberly's bangs just a bit too long? We think they are. "How can you love and hate someone so much at the same time?" Heidi laments. Does anyone else suspect that Heidi prepared this thought ahead of time, like hours before filming, just for poignancy factor? At this point, our boyfriend looks up from his computer and says, "Wait, this show is over soon, right?" Oh boyfriend, don't be so negative! This is one of the better episodes we've seen in a while!
And we're back at the fashion show, where the celebs are pouring in and getting seated. And there's Jason Lee! And Kirstie Alley? A pretty lame front row, if you ask us, but we've never even heard of the designer, Whitley Kros. Has anyone?
Cut to Heidi and Spencer fighting in his car about whether they're actually broken up. She thinks they aren't; he doesn't really think they are, either. What's the problem here, kids? Spencer finds another occasion to call Heidi "delusional," and we applaud you, Gargamel, for your consistency of character.
We end at the fashion show, which went successfully. Kelly tells Lauren that she went from "slo-mo to fashion glow." We assume this nonsensical statement is positive, as Kelly then offers Lauren a job while simultaneously putting Jessica down, for what has got to be the twentieth time this episode. But MTV saves the best for last in the previews for next week: the return of Justin Bobby! YES!
And now, it's time for our Unequivocal Hills Reality Index:
As Real As Lauren Is Awkward
• The model-casting process. It's true: They walk for five seconds and then have their Polaroid taken. Though it's not quite as fascinating as Whitney makes it out to be.
• Jessica: She's definitely on the road to getting canned on national TV, a fate that even the most fame-starved urchin wouldn't agree to.
• Jason Lee's mustache.
As Fake As Heidi's Boobs
• Heidi and Spencer's "relationship vacation." That bar fight was one of the worst displays of Method acting to ever grace The Hills. They were practically laughing while yelling at each other.
• Lauren's surprise at being offered a job at People's Revolution. Well, duh.
• Audrina and Lauren's friendship. Do these two hate each other, or is it just us? —Emma Rosenblum
Photo: Courtesy of NBC
Diane Neal Exits Law &Order: SVU [TV Guide]
Naomi Campbell: In demand around the globe. Naomi Campbell's bodily fluids: Unwelcome in more than one hemisphere.
A little more than a week after London police failed to see the benefit of...
David Foote’s No. 11 (2008)Image courtesy of the artist.
Brooklyn Heights: A cop movie with Ellen Barkin will be shooting here … the very hood where her ex, actor Gabriel Byrne, lives! But apparently they get along fine, so no biggie. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Carroll Gardens: No sooner does the controversial 360 Smith development put up a Website to communicate with locals than the site's defunct! Plus, they've put up a blue wall over the fence where hoodsters would post all manner of critique of the project. [Gowanus Lounge]
Greenpoint: The hood's own waterside park should be good to go by 2010. It's called "Transmitter Park" for now, because the WNYC transmitter used to be there, which is why some people think it should be called WNYC Park. Nawww! [Newyorkshitty]
Soho: A new street sign for Mercer Street that went up reading "Merser St.," to the instant ridicule of savvy passersby, has been fixed. Mersifully. [Queens Crap]
South Bronx: City enviro-honchos have told a fertilizer plant here to stop opening its doors and inner workings to a local eco-activist group that was monitoring them. [NYDN]
South Williamsburg: While trying to track down a stabber here among the hipsters and Hasidim, cops are also handing out $120 jaywalking tickets, some claim. [Gothamist]
Upper East Side: The Laurel, the in-progress luxury tower where a construction worker fell to his death yesterday, has racked up 25 safety violations since work there began in April, including failure to have a safety manager on site. [NYS]
Tax day just got a little more taxing for Wesley Snipes.
U.S. prosecutors have recommended that the IRS-dodging Blade star serve the maximum sentence of three years in federal prison and pay a...
Photo: Getty Images
It turns out he was planning to but got a painful muscle spasm in his neck earlier in the day. "Sleeping in the hotel, I got wrapped up in a pillow and woke up with this," he said, pointing to a spot at the back of his neck. "If I emit any loud noises, I'll pass out." Instead, he gave a funny, inspiring speech about overcoming his problem with stuttering as a kid growing up in small-town West Virginia. "My mother used to warn me about teen pregnancy. And I used to laugh and think, 'Man, I can't even get one of these girls to smile,'" he said. "But if it hadn't been for stuttering, I might have had a job in the coal mine and a wife with arthritis and twelve kids." Then he had Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates act as his stand-in for a rousing rendition of "Lean on Me," backed by the Our Time kids and the cast of Spring Awakening.
Still, we weren't satisfied. We wanted to hear the man sing, and apparently we're not alone. "People are always asking me, 'Where's Bill Withers been? Is he dead?'" said Howard Bingham, photographer and friend of Withers's. "No, he's not dead. He's sitting at home collecting his checks from all those songs he's written." Withers admitted, "That's probably true to some extent. The checks come in pretty regularly. There is a surprising amount of order in the way the music business runs."
Fans poured down from the audience, many expressing a desire to hear him perform again. "Thank you. Glad to hear it," he said, before changing the subject. "I thought this might happen," he told us. "Nobody's seen me in about twenty years." So what's he been doing? "I putter around the house," he said, "and I've been batting around a few things with Jimmy Buffett." Interest piqued again! What things? Would they take the sessions public? "I don't know, dear," he said. "I'll be 70 years old in about five minutes. Mailmen get to sit around at age 65. We should all get to relax sometime. You know what the best thing about this time in life is? You don't have to know what you're doing next." —Jada Yuan
Scenes from last year's madness.Photos: Getty Images
Photo: Suzanne Goldish
So the character in your book generally goes about treating women like total crap. What's that about?
I was trying to describe what I see out here. It's not pretty!
The women seem to have it pretty much together, yet they're just taking crap and never getting mad. Is that what you're seeing in your friends and colleagues?
Do I see women putting up with this stuff? Yeah. I think the guys behave badly, but I'm not sure they're bad guys. I think part of it is that women see that something might be done with them. It's an ancient mistake, or an ancient gift, that women give to men, where they give them the benefit of trying to straighten themselves out. I had a very interesting conversation with an older woman friend who's a well-known and much-admired, by me and everyone else, feminist writer, who was talking about Roth and Bellow and she was saying, "Well, you couldn't possibly write like that anymore. You couldn't possibly have men who treat women in this way in your books." And I thought, Geez, you know, I sort of do in my book.
Had she read it?
No, she hadn't. She said, "No way." Some of the kind of instinctual misogyny that you find in Bellow has been educated out of these men. You know, they went to college. They've been civilized. And yet, you know, it's still the case that you come to New York in your twenties, you sort of find out your place in that world based on the sort of people who date you. And so, for all the progress that's been made, that's still going on. Gosh, you know, you would be writing a dishonest book, I think, about men and women in their late twenties in American cities if that wasn't part of it.
It's an interesting choice to call the character you write in the first person by your own first name. Everybody is going to think it's you.
When I read a book, I partly read it to find out what might possibly conceivably happen to me in life. I tried to write this book within the confines of fiction, but within that, I really tried to write a book that if you were a young person getting out of college and wondering what to do with yourself, you could read it and it would give you an imperfect sociological picture of the various possibilities. And if the price of that is that people are going to think that it's me — and some of it's me and some of it's not — that's fine. I think that's part of the bargain.
I have to ask you about Nick Denton and the post he wrote on Gawker about you and your girlfriend, Emily Gould. What was your reaction?
It was hard to tell what he was getting at. He seems to be angry about something.
Were you upset?
I really have nothing to say about it. Otherwise I'd have to turn n+1 the Website into a kind of war zone! I can't do that. —Jesse Ellison
Photo illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Getty Images, iStockphoto
Dimon Says May the Schwartz Be With Us [NYP]
We're beginning to accept that wry grin.Photo: Getty Images
• Varvatos never intended to open a store at 315 Bowery but learned when he was scouting for an event space that a bank planned to move in and raze the place. "I was in the space for no more than 15 seconds and said, ‘You’re not going to put a bank in here. It’s not going to happen,’” he said. The next morning he had his team move forward on the project.
• Arturo Vega, former creative director of the Ramones (a CBGB band if there ever was one), gave Varvatos his blessing.
• The staff is made up of either musicians or the "music-obsessed."
• The merchandise is hand-selected so it's appropriately punky. No pink shirts are allowed.
• A separate "315 Bowery" label is in the works for exclusive sale at the store.
• Varvatos is trying to sign a deal to have a live radio show broadcast from the store on Thursday nights to give exposure to up-and-coming bands.
Wow — here's to keeping it real. But seriously, we salute the sentiment, especially on the bank bit. The disgruntled crowd at Mars Bar should be thanking this man.
Varvatos’ Rock Vision Bows at 315 Bowery [Footwear News]
Related: Video Store Tour: Inside John Varvatos
Photo: Getty Images
Laura Bush gets an Hour As Guest Host On Today [AP/NYT]
Photo: Courtesy of BravoTonight, sadly, we bid adieu to The Real Housewives of New York City. It's only been seven episodes, but we feel like we've been through a lot with the ladies of the Upper East Side (and Cobble Hill). We watched Ramona relentlessly push her daughter, we watched Alex and Simon relentlessly warp their sons, and we had to stand by as Bethenny did her best to deep-six what seemed to be a perfectly lovely relationship with Jason. We found that as the season progressed, our opinions of each of the women changed drastically, so we've created a chart that tracks the waxing and waning of our affections. In the end, we liked LuAnn a lot less than we expected, and felt that Bethenny could have actually been a friend in real life. (And Jill could have been, you know, a mom friend.) Do you agree? Disagree? What are your favorite moments from the show? Tell us in the comments.
The 'Real Housewives' Likability Index [Full Size]
Earlier: The Ladies of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’: A Social Examination
Derek Hough's hospital stays are getting to be a real pain in the neck. And stomach.
For the second consecutive week, the Dancing with the Stars pro was taken to the hospital just hours before...REAL ESTATE
• Hallelujah! Manhattan rent is down, except for the prices of one-bedroom apartments, which got more expensive. Another year of roommates, ho-hum. [Real Deal]
• Richard Gere, yes, that Richard Gere, is having issues with zoning laws in Bedford, where he's opened up a café and bakery. [AP]
FINANCE
• Bear Stearns chairman Jimmy Cayne is going to receive $4.6 million for selling more than $61 million of Bear shares last month. [Financial News]
• Stephen Feinberg, the blue-collar billionaire founder of private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, goes on the record for his first in-depth interview. [DealBook/NYT]
• It's tax day! And Dunkin' Donuts is offering you a bonus: a free "tax loophole" (i.e., a free doughnut) when you purchase a cup of coffee. [Boston Globe]
MEDIA
• The blogger that reported that Obama said that small-town voters bitter over their economic circumstances "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them" is actually an Obama supporter, but she decided if she didn't report the comments in a blog post, she wouldn't be doing her job. But now speculators are wondering if she's a Clinton mole… [NYT]
• Richard Butler, the British journalist who was kidnapped two months ago while on assignment for 60 Minutes, was freed yesterday and is in good health. [WP]
• News, business, and luxury magazines had a bad first quarter, while ad pages in publications that cover food are being gobbled up. [NYP]
LAW
• Christie's sale of the "most important antique jewelry in history" was halted by a court. [NYT]
• Mayor Bloomberg reaches an agreement with Wal-Mart about tracking the sale of firearms, including videotaping gun sales and conducting criminal-background checks on gun salesmen. [NYT]
• Davis Polk ups its bonuses to associates who take time off to clerk to $70,000, joining firms like Paul Weiss, Cravath and Sullivan and Cromwell. [Above the Law]
Rob Lowe's nanny diaries have finally hit the courts—and the public finally knows what allegations, exactly, the actor has spent the past week defending himself against.
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