[Shanghaiist]

Now, in one sense, the Reich endorsement comes as no great surprise. For some time, it's been clear to anyone paying attention that Reich favors Obama. Back in December, in a blog post titled "Why is HRC Stooping So Low?," Reich loudly and sharply criticized Clinton's conduct in Iowa and defended Obama's proposals for health-care and Social Security reform. Two days before the race-charged South Carolina primary, he assailed Bill Clinton's "ill-tempered and ill-founded attacks" on Obama, arguing that they were "doing no credit to the former president, his legacy, or his wife's campaign." And all throughout the primary season, he has spoken and written of Obama's candidacy with evident admiration and enthusiasm.

But Reich insists that the endorsement does indeed come as a surprise — to him. As we chatted in Washington, where Reich had come from Berkeley, where he teaches, to give a speech and meet with some Democrats on Capitol Hill, he explained that, despite the criticisms he's made of the Clintons ("I call it as I see it"), he had planned to refrain from offering an official backing for Obama out of respect for Hillary. "She's an old friend," Reich said, "I've known her 40 years. I was absolutely dead set against getting into the whole endorsement thing. I've struggled with it. I've not wanted to do it. Out of loyalty to her, I just felt it would be inappropriate."

So what's changed? I asked Reich.

"I saw the ads" — the negative man-on-street commercials that the Clinton campaign put up in Pennsylvania in the wake of Obama's bitter/cling comments a week ago — "and I was appalled, frankly. I thought it represented the nadir of mean-spirited, negative politics. And also of the politics of distraction, of gotcha politics. It's the worst of all worlds. We have three terrible traditions that we've developed in American campaigns. One is outright meanness and negativity. The second is taking out of context something your opponent said, maybe inartfully, and blowing it up into something your opponent doesn't possibly believe and doesn't possibly represent. And third is a kind of tradition of distraction, of getting off the big subject with sideshows that have nothing to do with what matters. And these three aspects of the old politics I've seen growing in Hillary's campaign. And I've come to the point, after seeing those ads, where I can't in good conscience not say out loud what I believe about who should be president. Those ads are nothing but Republicanism. They're lending legitimacy to a Republican message that's wrong to begin with, and they harken back to the past 20 years of demagoguery on guns and religion. It's old politics at its worst — and old Republican politics, not even old Democratic politics. It's just so deeply cynical."

The Clinton campaign will, no doubt, shrug off the Reich endorsement of Obama. (And hey, who knows, maybe James Carville will get into the act and declare Reich a Benedict Arnold!) They will say that it's unlikely to move any votes, and that, since Reich is not a super-delegate, it does nothing tangible to move Obama even one inch closer to the nomination.

All of which is true enough, as far as it goes. But beyond the bald fact of Reich's support for Obama, the Clinton campaign should pay heed to the reasoning behind it. In his disgust with Hillary's increasingly harsh tactics, Reich is hardly alone. Indeed, the feeling seems to be spreading more broadly in the party with every passing day. It's been clear for some time that Hillary's attacks on Obama were driving up her negatives. You could certainly argue this might be a price worth paying if those attacks were amping up doubts about him. But it's hard to see any logic — or even sanity — in the tactic if the result is to drive even people who once regarded Hillary dearly into Obama's arms. — John Heilemann

Related: Gibson and Stephanopoulus Criticized After Debate [NYM]
How Barack Obama Lost The Debate — And Whether It Matters [NYM]

For a complete and regularly updated guide to presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain — from First Love to Most Embarrassing Gaffe — read the 2008 Electopedia.

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 18 Apr 2008 | 6:01 am

E Street Band's Keyboard Silenced

The E Street Band is mourning one of its own.   Danny Federici, the longtime organist and keyboard player for the Bruce Springsteen-fronted group, died Thursday afternoon of melanoma at...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 18 Apr 2008 | 5:02 am

Stars Catch the Diva, Superhero Bugs

Chan, Bell and Downey live the high life on set and try to stay grounded off.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 18 Apr 2008 | 3:21 am

Norton Finds Reports of Hulk Feud Incredible

Perhaps The Hulk's troubles aren't so massive after all.   Edward Norton, star of the would-be summer blockbuster The Incredible Hulk, is looking to refute the rampant rumors that...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 18 Apr 2008 | 1:50 am

Clive Davis Hails to New BMG Chief

Clive Davis has been given a different set of initials, none of which spell out top dog anymore.  The pioneering recording exec is out as chairman and CEO of the BMG label group and will...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 18 Apr 2008 | 12:30 am

'Bored' By R&B, Ne-Yo Experiments On New Album

Ne-Yo says he didn't plan to rush his new album, "Year of the Gentleman," his third release in as many years, into production. "I wanted the third album to be something a little different," he tells Billboard. "Fortunately, it didn't take me that long."
Source: Billboard News - Daily | 18 Apr 2008 | 12:00 am

E Street Band Keyboardist Danny Federici Dies

Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died last night (April 17). He was 58.
Source: Billboard News - Daily | 18 Apr 2008 | 12:00 am

Lawyers Trust in Britney's Money

The lawyers who have been toiling for Britney Spears and her family are about to cash in big-time.    A court commissioner on Thursday approved a request from Britney's coconservators...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 11:31 pm

David Ortiz ‘Curse’ Jersey Up to $30K on eBay

Remember that David Ortiz jersey that the Yankees dug up from their new stadium last weekend? The one Hank Steinbrenner referred to as “a bunch of bullshit” in the Post? Well, apparently there’s quite a market for said "bullshit," because the Jimmy Fund, a Boston-based cancer charity, is auctioning it off on eBay. As of the time this post went up, it had 99 bids — highest of which is $30,101. It’s for charity, so we guess that’s great and all, but Holy Joba, 30 grand for a baseball jersey?! UniWatch’s Paul Lukas has already pointed out that it is a cheap replica jersey. Even in the world of gimmicky Boston jerseys auctioned off by the Jimmy Fund, that’s a high price; ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons donated what he considered an unlucky Patriots jersey after New England lost the Super Bowl, and it only garnered a measly $5,100.14. We wonder if the buyer is even a Sox fan — since the only thing it seems to have cursed is Ortiz himself, who’s hitting just .121 so far this season. —Joe DeLessio

Ortiz "Yankees Curse" Jersey to benefit the Jimmy Fund [eBay]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 11:30 pm

The Pose That Really Needs to Stop

At left, we have models Behati Prinsloo after walking the Derek Lam show, Heidi Klum at the Kids' Choice Awards, and Tanya Dziahileva backstage at the 3.1 phillip lim show. Three gorgeous ladies, all of whom are worthy of our admiration and adoration. And yet? Apparently they all decided that since they were caught in a candid moment, they may as well throw decorum to the wind and show the cameras just how and crazy and fun they are! Rowr! Hence we have what we're going to call the Look, I'm Zany! Pose™. Let's be clear: It's not the best pose out there. We definitely encourage the world's finest mannequins to cut loose, but perhaps not in this exact position. And poor Tanya on the bottom didn't get the memo that peace signs — or are they bunny ears? — are in right now, if she's going to insist on pulling a Zany™.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 11:20 pm

The "Hoff" Is All Hasselhoff's

David Hasselhoff gets the "Hoff," the T-shirt slogan and, oh, the elephant foot. The long, messy split of Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach resulted finally in a dry, civil divorce settlement...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:47 pm

Will Harrison Ford Save Us From Shia LaBeouf and a Spinoff of Doom?

In an otherwise negligible interview in this morning's USA Today (headline: "Harrison Ford Is a Portrait of Rugged Individualism"), grizzled 65-year-old movie actor Harrison Ford refuses to rule out starring in a fifth Indiana Jones film someday despite the mounting prelash against next month's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. While this no doubt is wonderful news to moviegoers who've always wanted to see the fictional archaeologist fall asleep in front of the History Channel or get lost in his own home, it might not be such good news for Shia LaBeouf, who plays Jones's son in Skull and who Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are rumored to be grooming to star in a spinoff trilogy once Ford gets too old to handle a whip. So, now, if Skull is well received, Ford will sign up for a sequel and LaBeouf will be relegated to sidekick status for at least another movie. If it turns out slightly less than perfect, LaBeouf will likely never work again. Somebody give this guy a break!

Harrison Ford is a portrait of rugged individualism [USAT]
My Indiana Jones Crackpot Theory [VF]

Earlier: Is Shia LaBeouf the Next Jar Jar Binks?

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:45 pm

Cab Explodes in Front of St. Patrick's

A half-hour ago, a taxicab exploded in front of St. Patrick's on Fifth Avenue, where the Pope is scheduled to deliver Mass this weekend. WNBC reports that there is "a dark plume of smoke rising high above the church," and that a large crowd of onlookers has gathered. Right now it seems as though it was just a rogue combustion like last fall's 30 Rock explosion. We'll keep you posted if we hear more.

Cab Catches Fire Outside St. Patrick's Cathedral [WNBC]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:20 pm

Viktor & Rolf's $120 False Lashes Debut

MAKEUP
• The first photos of Viktor & Rolf's limited-edition false-eyelash line for Shu Uemura are out. The line includes three sets of false eyelashes that retail for $120, so these are not the kind you're expected to lose. [A Touch of Blusher]

FRAGRANCE
• Swarovski studded the Bond No. 9 fragrance bottle in purple, green, and blue crystals. You can get it at Saks for just $650. Honestly, we love the fashion and beauty industry's refusal to acknowledge the recession. It's a beautiful thing. [Beauty Snob]

• Ballade Verte by Manuel Canovas smells “deeply, darkly, earthily green, old and musty in the best way, a rich and almost rotting organic green like fresh branches mixed into soil.” Uhhhhh, we wear perfume so we don't smell like that, but to each her own. [Moment/NYT]

SKIN
• British docs say they’ve discovered a cure for acne called SMT D002, which would reduce the flow of sebum (oil) by 90 percent. It’s a pill, but they're trying to make a cream. Now whatcha gonna do, Proactiv? Huh? [Telegraph via Jezebel]

• Collagen is an anti-ager that comes in many beauty products. But in Japan you can ingest it in candy or soup form. Suddenly our tummies are just rumbling. [Beauty and the Blog]

• The Secret Platinum deodorant in vanilla chai smells like sweet pudding, but it's so potent it interferes with perfume. Lame. [Non Blonde]

NAILS
• Chanel’s summer Flamingo hue is spot-on for frilly ladies who love pink. We dare say the sparkly finish would look fabulous on toes. [All Lacquered Up]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:15 pm

Do Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos Hate America?

Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos may consider steering clear of the Internet today. In fact, stay away from all media. Maybe go fishing, go riding on a tandem bicycle through the park or something. Because this nice, sunny day will be utterly ruined if they come in contact with any written words right now. The normally venerable newsmen are being absolutely lambasted for their moderation of last night’s Democratic debate, in which the first 50 minutes were spent exhuming the many scandals, or non-scandals (the flag pin? No, really, the flag pin?), that we had already beaten to death and buried, at the cost of topics some Democrats might consider important, like, hm, the environment, health care, or education, for example.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly who came out today with the most vigorous condemnation of Gibson and Stephanopoulos. Is it the Washington Post’s Tom Shales, who wrote that they turned in “shoddy, despicable performances”? Or perhaps Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News, who called the debate “a televised train wreck”? There's more…

• Greg Mitchell on the Huffington Post proclaimed it “the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years.”
• Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo referred to it as an “unmitigated travesty.”
• Gibson — whose glasses were so far down on his nose that if he moved them any further he'd be able to taste them — was painted as elite and out of touch by The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel for being “shocked” when the Democrats talked of raising taxes on the rich.
• Stephanopoulos, for his part, is being condemned for taking his cues from Sean Hannity, that bastion of journalistic integrity, on his Weather Underground line of questioning.

But it's possible that the most revealing reaction last night was not from the pundits but from the crowd itself. As ABC went to a commercial at the end of the debate, the audience began booing and heckling Gibson. “The crowd is turning on me, the crowd is turning on me,” Gibson said, throwing up his hands. If only it was just the crowd, Charles. —Dan Amira

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:15 pm

Celeb Designers: Talented or Tacky?

Sure they can sing and act, but veteran designers say many celebs can't sew.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:05 pm

Kurt Andersen Wants Hugh Jackman in Chains

Let's face it, often when Broadway announces a forthcoming project, you get that ew-why-are-they-doing-that-and-who-are-these-people feeling? (We'll admit such a feeling was driving us when we blew off the first performances of Rent thirteen years ago, then a few months later couldn't sell our own mother for a press ticket.) But sometimes you get the opposite feeling — just a momentary burst of, Hey, this could be kind of cool. That's the feeling we got just a few hours ago when we read that New York's columnist Kurt Andersen is teaming up with Danny Elfman and Tony Yazbek (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) for a spring 2010 musical about … Houdini!

We imagine a smart, well-researched, bitingly clever musical with swirling, inventive music. Would Andersen agree with that heady take? We called him to find out. (We can do that, because, after all, he writes for us.) "We really want to not have it be conventional in any sense," he said, adding (when pressed, we should say) that he can kinda see Hugh Jackman in the role of the self-chaining, self-entombing, life-risking, mother-obsessing, self-inventing Jewish magician who took an exotic-sounding Italian-type name and became the turn of the century's closest thing to an international superstar. Kind of like Matthew Barney today, right? "That's an interesting comparison," Andersen said. "Maybe if he were a person that walked in the street and everybody recognized him and there were front-page articles in the New York Times about him, I guess. And if he were risking his life in those films." —Tim Murphy

Houdini, with Score by Elfman and Yazbek, Aiming for Broadway Arrival in Spring 2010 [Playbill]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 10:00 pm

Heidi Klum: Fashion Hypocrite?

The new issue of Us Weekly has a "25 PAGE FASHION BONUS!" (their punctuation, not ours). We knew we'd be in for a night of tossing and turning if we didn't know who the "HOT HOLLYWOOD STYLE WINNERS" were, so we bought the issue and flipped through. The Celebrity Designer of the Year is — surprise! — Lauren Conrad, and the Star Design (whatever that is) winners are Kimora Lee Simmons and Sean "Diddy" Combs. We thought it couldn't get any better, but we kept flipping and came upon Nicky Hilton, Snoop Dogg and his wife, Shante, Brody Jenner, and Heidi Montag sporting her inseamless shorts. In need of the fashion equivalent of a shower, we took a crack at the mag's Q&A with Heidi Klum, their Style Icon of the Year, wherein we noticed this nugget:

What's the most important rule for dressing up? Not to do too many things. Don't go hoochie-mama: big hair, red lips, dark eye shadow, lots of lashes, short skirt, boobs out, high heels. Too much! Pick one thing. If you have great legs, wear something super-short with a great shoe and keep your boobs tucked in.

Now didn't Klum's Oscar-party outfit (pictured above) include a short skirt, boobs out, high heels, and lots of lashes? The woman looks hot, but there's something to be said for practicing what one preaches.

Heidi Klum: Style Icon of the Year [Us Weekly (not online)]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 9:50 pm

Natasha Bedingfield Has a Crush on Scarlett Johansson

Rapper RZA is a fan of the Rolling Stones. So much so that he will sing you his favorite song, "Off the Hook," without your even asking. "You should get that one," he said to us after humming a bar. "That’s Mick Jagger at his fucking coolest." We were at the Angel Orensanz Foundation, celebrating the release of Belvedere's Jagger Dagger, an ice pick designed by the Rolling Stones front man's daughter, Jade. What an unlikely crush, we thought to ourselves, only to hear Natasha Bedingfield top it moments later. "I have a girl crush on Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie," she told a crowd of reporters. Wow, we said. So you're into Scarlett's new album? "I heard it was really cool and very folkie," Bedingfield told us. "I am excited for her and to hear it. I think it is supposed to be really real." Funny, that's what we heard, too! —Bennett Marcus and Shira Levine

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 9:30 pm

Why Reviews for ‘The Wackness’ Might Be Mad Wack, Yo

The Wackness seems to have everything going for it. It was Sony Pictures Classics' big Sundance acquisition this year, and comes into Tribeca riding a wave of buzz. It co-stars your new indie crush Olivia Thirlby. It's opening this summer in a savvy counter-programming move. So why are we going to go out on a limb and predict a lot of dismissive, negative reviews for the 1994-set coming-of-age movie? Because of its press notes.

Specifically, the "Slang Dictionary" that sits in the middle of the film's press packet, a rich target of mockery that offers straight-faced definitions of such arcane terms as "blunt," "peace out," and "breasteses" ("Noun. Plural form of breast").

It reads like the result of some late-night publicity brainstorming session that should've been nipped in the cold light of morning. It is guaranteed to make reviewers more inclined to hate the movie; The Wackness already runs the risk of feeling overly mannered, what with lines like "I got mad love for you, homegirl," and many reviewers are going to have their poseur-o-meters set off when they read a definition for "ganja."

Our Riedelesque prediction: If Sony Pictures Classics ditches the "Slang Dictionary," their Rotten Tomatoes score will improve by 15 percent. If not, we think they might be illin'. ("Verb, variant of ill. Doing things that can get you in trouble, i.e. vandalism, doing drugs, etc.")

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 9:30 pm

Long Island City Gets a Breakdown

Greenwich Village: On the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, NYU is looking into a high-tech lockdown system in the event of an emergency. Like when they're under siege by anti-development locals, perhaps? [Gothamist]
Long Island City: Hunters Point, Dutch Kills, Ravenwood … yes, friends, LIC is no mere monolith but a gorgeous mosaic of many diverse and vibrant villages, and the city has graciously identified them for you on this colorful new map! [LiQcity]
Midtown East: City honchos are looking to close off a segment of 34th Street to cars. Could they put in some non-depressing lunch places, too? [Gothamist]

Mott Haven: Hispanic parishioners at St. Rita's church in this part of the Bronx really want the Pope to pass through their hood en route to Yankee Stadium, just like John Paul II did during his visit in the seventies. And, hey, St. Rita is the saint of the impossible, so maybe it'll happen. [NYS via Talk Bronx]
Prospect Heights: Yo, new neighbor on Prospect Place, we're sick of seeing your "bare white ass" when you sit down on the can every night in your curtainless bathroom, so please buy some drapes pronto. [Brooklynian via Curbed]
Prospect Park: Man saves baby squirrel from mid-road suicide. Baby squirrel curls up in his pocket. Man takes baby squirrel home. Man is chided by city officials for doing so. Man takes squirrel on subway and delivers to pro-squirrel rescuer. Yes, this is the cutest and weirdest story we've read in a looong time. [Citybirder via Queens Crap]
Red Hook: As the hood loses its closest subway stop to major repairs and braces for the opening of a massive Ikea, some folks want to make the area the city's bike-friendliest. [NYP]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 8:45 pm

We Really Wish We Had Gone to the Christopher Cross Concert

Just last week we found ourselves, by accident of geography, sitting down to drinks in the Carlyle Hotel with a bunch of fellow thinkers in their late twenties and early thirties. Before we fled, driven away by wines by the glass starting at $19, someone pointed out a sign by the piano in the dimly lit establishment, advertising an upcoming show by none other than Christopher Cross. As one, the entire table erupted in enthusiasm for the idea — it turns out that everyone loves yacht rock, in a way that is both ironic and transcends irony. The first cassette we ever owned was Christopher Cross's first album, and we remember feeling really excited when Cross won his Grammys — the ones that, of course, are now held up as example of the Grammys' steadfast ability to get things wrong.

Anyway, in today's Times, Stephen Holden, no less, reviews Cross's Carlyle show. Holden didn't really like it — "pleasant, mildly romantic background music of meager substance," he calls it — but we have to admit: We think it would have been really great to see that show. Most of all, we'd have liked to see that voice ("Sailing…") coming out of this guy.

The Awards Were Long Ago, but the Catchy Tunes Go On [NYT]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 8:45 pm

Something's Familiar About Blake Lively's ‘Nylon’ Cover

Good afternoon, Upper East Siders! On the left you see two images of Gossip Girl's Blake Lively. The top photo appeared as a full-page image in the front of Teen Vogue's March issue. The bottom image is the cover of Nylon's May issue. She's rocking a suspiciously similar yellow jacket, black miniskirt, white shirt-and-tie combo in those shots, eh? (We peered over our spectacles as we typed that.) Huh. Now, Lively is the star of Gossip Girl, which is all about prep schoolers, so we could see both magazines' stylists naturally going the whole hip-schoolgirl route. But still, the similarity of the images strikes us as a bit uncanny, especially given the timing of the two issues. The March Teen Vogue hit stands in early February — which, following the logic of monthly magazine-production schedules, may very well have been before Nylon shot its May cover. Perhaps someone at Nylon saw the look in Teen Vogue and the image stuck in her head without her realizing it? Perhaps it really is just a huge coincidence? Or perhaps Blake loved her outfit so much the first time that she demanded to wear it again? Seriously, the yellow jacket is cute.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 8:30 pm

Akon: A Con...or Con Man?

Akon's just been smoked out. The gangsta-posturing rapper, who has extolled his bad-boy past in hit albums like Trouble and Konvicted, is, according to a new report on the Smoking Gun, more...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 8:21 pm

Artist Team Leonardogillesfleur Defies Gravity, Hogs Sidewalk

If you were to whittle down Sufjan Stevens’s recent orchestral suite, The BQE (30 minutes of angry beats, horns happily trilling, and screeching strings) and David Blaine’s Vertigo (35 hours of the brawny magician's standing on a 105-foot-tall pillar over Bryant Park), you might get Remake of a Remake from leonardogillesfleur, 1 minute, 54 seconds, of two figures, one falling (or flying), the other quietly witnessing, all set to the background noise of Brooklyn traffic. See this and other videos — of ladies eating ice cream, couples kissing, teens smoking — at George Adams Gallery through May 17. —Emma Pearse

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 8:15 pm

How We Got This Schpecially Commissioned Portrait By Julian Schnabel

We cannot even begin to tell you how excited we were when we cracked open this week's New Yorker and found that MasterCard has a new promotion in which We, the Common People, are eligible to win a one-of-a-kind commissioned portrait from The Man Himself, Julian Schnabel. "Are You Searching for Something Priceless?" the ad asked. There was a small envelope attached. "Look inside to see if your search is over." We squealed. We just knew we were going to win. We put the envelope in our pocket and ran all the way to the New York Mag office. Like Charlie with his Wonka Bar, we could feel the golden twinkle in our eye. "Grandpa Joe!" we shrieked, flinging open the door. Dan Kois of the Vulture blog glared at us grumpily. Everyone just kept staring at their screens and typing. The world isn't what it used to be. We sat down at our desks and opened the envelope.

Keep searching.

Aw!, we said. But then we remembered that we still had access to the world of pure imagination, where dreams come true! That is, Photoshop. And so we made a Schnabel of ourselves, and guess what? It was priceless.

MasterCard Priceless Search Instant Win Promotion with Julian Schnabel [Priceless.com]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 8:00 pm

What the Stylist–cum–Jewel Thief Derek Khan Taught Us About Dubai

Derek Khan is a stylist who became famous in the nineties for stripping hip-hop stars like Lauryn Hill and Salt-n-Pepa of their streetwear and dressing them instead in stuff by Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel. Naturally, he borrowed things, like jewelry, for them to wear. But he wanted extra cash to take them, entourages in tow, to fancy dinners drenched in fine Champagne. So rather than, say, taking on another client or something similarly legal, he sold the borrowed jewels. And, naturally, Captain Obvious got caught and went to prison where no Lauryn Hills or Salt-n-Pepas came to visit him, and so he was resigned to simply read about them in Vogue. This made him very sad.

When he got out of prison, he was determined to attain fame again. But he couldn't do it in the good ol' USA because his green card was revoked, and he was deported to his native Trinidad, where it was very hot and humid. This made him very sad. Where, oh where, would his star shine again? Dubai, of course! The city "so preoccupied with its future that no one would be interested in his past." Over there, even though everyone knows his middle name is Sticky Fingers, he's on the cover of celebrity gossip magazines like OK! Middle East; they proclaim Khan's arrival validates Dubai as a premier stylish destination. Never mind that Roberto Cavalli is launching his nightclub there or that every big designer's got a new store there — it's the ex–jewel thief and stylist that really confirms the place's status. Khan also appears on satellite TV and designs a line of — get this — jewelry.

We haven't yet made it over to Dubai, but we're certainly curious about the place, especially since we read tales of its bustling luxury market in the papers every day. Now we know that it's about as insecure as the token rich girl in high school, especially if it's getting its reassurance from a guy like Khan. Sounds magical.

A Jewel Thief’s Audacious Comeback [NYT]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 7:50 pm

Simpsons Back to Bueno in Venezuela

You can't keep a good, yellow-hued, four-fingered man down. A little more than a week after a Venezuelan TV station pulled a daily broadcast of The Simpsons amid viewer complaints of failing...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 7:39 pm

Warning: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith May Be Hazardous to Your iPod

This morning, one of your Vulture editors took a rare step away from his computer to go see a demo of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, the latest forthcoming iteration of the internationally beloved Guitar Hero video-game series. GH:A is the first version dedicated to a single artist, elegantly retelling the story of Aerosmith's career through the music of Aerosmith (about 60 percent of the playable songs are theirs, the rest are by their favorite bands). Steven Tyler & Co. submitted to an intense motion-capture process to ensure that their digital avatars (see above) look and move exactly as they do onstage, and, after seeing the game on a large-screen high-definition television set, we're pleased to report that their characters look at least as lifelike as the actual members of Aerosmith. As we probably should've expected, the game's awesome. Needless to say, this terrifies us to no end.

A few months ago, we decided to see what all the fuss was about, so we picked up a copy of Guitar Hero III. As a result, our iPod is now full of nothing but Slipknot and DragonForce. Unlike most video games, Guitar Hero's biggest danger isn't a change in one's personal productivity or a desensitization to violence — it's a change in one's listening habits and a desensitization to the discography of Scorpions (whom we now love); something about the flashing lights and repetitive hand-eye-coordination exercises has turned us into involuntary fans of pretty much GH III's entire soundtrack. We like Aerosmith, we suppose; we just haven't thought much about them since 1993. And now, already, we're looking for Get a Grip on Soulseek and trying to dislodge the melody from "Kings and Queens" from our brain. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is out on June 29, and we'd suggest you enjoy these last remaining days of only half-appreciating Permanent Vacation.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 7:30 pm

How to Treat the Pope Properly

Last night we had a nightmare in which we were introduced to the Pope, and all we could think to call him was, "His Popeness." We don't know where that came from, but we knew it was wrong. So we got in touch with Pastor Richard Baker, the director of the Cathedral of St. Patrick's Young Singers — a group of seventeen children, ages 10 to 16, who will perform for the Pope when he arrives in New York tomorrow — and asked him to tell us what he told the kids about how to behave, should we find ourselves in his divine presence, and a few other burning questions as well.

What do I do if I get into a situation where I actually meet the Pope?
If you have the chance of actually coming to him one-on-one — which, of course, you probably won't, but just in case that happens — it's customary to kiss the ring upon the finger of his right hand. And then address him as "Your Holiness." Not "Hey Pope" or "Hello Pope." "Your Holiness" is how you refer to him all the time: "Thank you, your Holiness," "It was a pleasure to meet you, your Holiness." Or you could refer to him as "Holy Father." "Holy Father, may I ask you, what did you have for breakfast this morning?" You know. You always refer to the pope as "Your Holiness" and "Holy Father." After that, the Pope will probably speak to you first, and then you would respond to him, and feel very relaxed at that point. Once the sense of protocol is done, you can think of him as your priest. You should respond to what he has to say. He may say, "Your music was beautiful," or he may say something about himself.

So I can ask him questions?
He is very much open to everyday stuff. You may have something special you would like to ask him. Let's say one of your grandparents is sick, or one of your brothers and sisters, the Holy Father would be very open to hearing that. You could say, "Holy Father, could you please pray for my grandmother?"

What about touching the Pope?
You can touch the Pope, in terms of taking his hand.

Who will he hang out with while he is here?
He'll be traveling with his personal secretary and a number of Vatican officials. Remember, he comes as Head of State. So both arms, the church and the state, will be coming with him. But I don't think his entourage is that large. He's a priest, you know. He travels light. —Arianne Cohen

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 17 Apr 2008 | 7:15 pm

Kristy Lee Cook's Idol Secret

Kristy Lee Cook's American Idol run was marked by a number of stays in the bottom three and, as it turns out, a secret engagement. Cook's boyfriend popped the question in the sauna of...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 7:02 pm

Filmmaker Kihachiro Kawamoto Makes Puppetry Even More Terrifying

Let’s face it: Just by its very nature, stop-motion animation is creepy. A stop-motion Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, for example, wouldn’t be winning and cute; it would be nightmarish and upsetting. But the genre has never been as disturbing as it is in the atmospheric films of Japanese stop-motion and puppet legend Kihachiro Kawamoto. Based on a twelfth-century Japanese legend, the aptly titled The Demon is about two brothers who go hunting in the woods and run into a demon, with unforeseen consequences. A dramatic mixture of animation, graphic wizardry, severed limbs, and even dance, Kawamoto’s seven-minute epic-in-miniature works its way to a deeply unsettling twist. Thankfully, U.S. viewers will get a chance to explore the director’s films more fully when Kino and KimStim release two DVDs of Kawamoto’s sublime work next week: His beautiful 2005 feature The Book of the Dead, and a selection of his short films (including this one).—Bilge Ebiri

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 6:45 pm

'Daily Show' reporter: Be afraid

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Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 6:34 pm

Video Look Book: Looking Good Without Expensive Threads

Out Video Look Book cameras caught Krystal Brown on one of her "funk it up" days. An actress currently shooting a pilot for Nickelodeon, she says she sometimes tones it down but always likes to show her legs, as she does here with hot-pink tights and shorts. She also proves you really can find cute stuff at Arden B. and Mango, and puts together a stylish look without bank-breaking designer duds. Watch and learn, grasshoppers.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 6:30 pm

Funny or Die, you're so big now!

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Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 6:18 pm

Zooey Deschanel Can Finally Unreservedly Recommend an Entertainment Product

"Sometimes I like the movies I'm in, sometimes I don't. Whereas this, I could say: This is me. I like it. I stand by it." —Zooey Deschanel on her new album [NYT]

"I went into it kind of doing a singer/songwriter thing, but I was like, 'You know what? I want to do music people can have fun to and listen to in the summer.'" —Ashlee Simpson on realizing that nobody has fun if she writes her own songs [MTV]

"I see myself as more of an Ian Ziering than a Luke Perry — but let's not quibble over our Beverly Hills, 90210 references. With 88 Minutes, it's a relief to play someone who's not monosyllabic." —Ben McKenzie [BlackBook]

"I joke that I'm just a square boy from the Midwest, but it's pretty true. Well, that sort of depends on who you talk to. Look, I don't know who I am, okay?" —Willem Dafoe, the pride of Appleton, Wisconsin [BlackBook]

"Let's face it: Pants are overrated." —John Cho on the increasing amount of nudity in movies [MTV]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 6:15 pm

Storm Agency Founder on Bone Structure, Anorexia, and Racism

Since Sarah Doukas founded modeling agency Storm, in London, she's launched the careers of Kate Moss, Sophie Dahl, and Jourdan Dunn, the first black model to walk Prada since Naomi Campbell in 1991. Why'd she sign 'em? While everyone and their Chihuahua was busy obsessing over hip circumference, Doukas was looking for cheek bones. Who knew bone structure still counted? She tells the Guardian:

You need the cheekbones, you need the jaw-line. You can look at someone who is gorgeous but perhaps has quite a round face, without the definition that you need for a camera and light to turn it into this fantastic canvas.

Back everyone's favorite topic — hips that do lie — she dodged the question of whether the fashion industry contributes to anorexia:

There is no doubt that in the past few years the girls at the top end have become thinner. You'd have to be a fool not to notice it. I was on the model health inquiry, and it's clear that we need to educate people. I know from being in the business that it has filtered through and things are changing slowly. But the girls on the catwalks are racehorses. They are much taller; they are 5ft 10½in, minimum.

She also dodged the question of whether the industry was racist, but noted very few clients request black models, which is why runways are so whitewashed. Now if only she could explain why Naomi Campbell is so angry.

Question time [Guardian]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 5:50 pm

Simpson Sisters Steal the Spotlight

Ashlee's reported pregnancy is the latest thing keeping the two in the news.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 5:01 pm

Rachel Clark: The Newest Victoria's Secret Model

Yet again, Victoria’s Secret is out. The latest to join lingerie mannequins Behati Prinsloo and Chanel Iman is Rachel Clark, and our spies stumbled upon the intel while reading her personal (and private, permission-only) blog, of all things. Who doesn't have a blog these days? Anyhow. On April 4, she posts, “I'll also be doing the main line, not just Pink. Though I remember there being clothing in the main line. I'm sure they wont stick me in undies. I'm sure of it.” Then two days later, she writes: “Hmm I dunno. The whole ‘am I doing pink or the normal line or the pink online or pink catalog or magalog or OMG what is a magalog anyway?’ issue is beyond my head in confusing details at this point. No one knows, I'm just rolling with it.” But by April 8, Rachel seems to have cleared it up: “It's official. I hearts shooting with the VS people.” —Kendall Herbst and James Lim

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm

Naomi Campbell: Now I'm Boycotting British Air

That Naomi Campbell—always looking out for the little guy. Aside from the ones on her payroll, that is. The tempestuous supermodel is claiming to have turned the tables on British Airways,...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 4:40 pm

Despite Impending French Ban, Fashion Industry Holds Fast to Thin Ideals

On Tuesday in Paris, a French bill that would imprison for up to three years and fine for up to $70,000 anyone who "incited excessive thinness" was passed by the National Assembly; the bill now just needs approval from the French senate to become law. It aims to tear down pro-anorexia Websites and blogs, but the bill's author, Valerie Boyer, wants the fashion industry to be subject to its regulations as well. However, it's unclear how the law would apply to ads, magazine spreads, and runway shows, nor has it been defined what "excessive thinness" means — which is why the fashion industry thinks none of this will really apply to them no matter what. Then again, it's not like they were planning on changing anyway. Here's what the industry folk had to say:

French Fashion Federation president Didier Grumbauch:
"We all agree there should be condemnation of any site encouraging anorexia, but…I think the parliament has better things to do."

Director of France's advertising authorities Joseph Besnainou:
"[The law] is a weapon for those targeting pro-anorexia blogs, but otherwise it's a bit of a useless law, as it's so difficult to apply.…I know of no advertising campaign that promotes anorexia."

Booking director for the Viva Paris agency Saif Mahdhi:
"I can have lunch with Natalia Vodianova, and she'll eat three times as much as I do, and then get up on the catwalk. She can have a baby and be walking shows a few weeks later and be perfectly healthy.…People are pointing the finger at the fashion industry, but I see anorexia as more of an issue for society in general."

Fashion designer Rick Owens:
"I'm all for them cracking down on pro-anorexia Websites, but I'll always have very slender people in my show.…I'm pretty thin myself, and I don't really have a problem with that. I don't think any model who is unhealthy can be successful."

What do you think? Is it okay for the fashion industry to hire models who really are just genetic marvels? Should the government force it to promote more realistic body images? Or do they really have better things to do? Do pontificate in the comments boxes.

French See Little Impact From 'Skinny' Bill [WWD]
Earlier: Breaking: France Is This Close to Banning Skinny Models

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 17 Apr 2008 | 4:20 pm

Aime Cesaire in 2007

French poet Aime Cesaire, seen here in 2007, an energetic promoter of black cultural identity, died Thursday in the Caribbean island of Martinique at the age of 94, a government source said.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 17 Apr 2008 | 4:03 pm

Psst! Looking for VERY prime Hollywood land?

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Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 3:53 pm

Are You Dressing for Yourself, or Your Race?

Black, white. Gay, straight. Ethnic & cultural groups have their own dress codes
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 3:51 pm

Tisdale Plays Musical Chairs with Career Plan

Ashley Tisdale is not a girl, not yet a witchy woman—but she's on her way. Like several Disney-spawned stars before her, the septum-challenged High School Musical alum is in the process...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 17 Apr 2008 | 2:52 pm

What's Kim Cattrall doing with Harry Potter?

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Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 2:51 pm

Love Under Wraps: Stars' Secret Flings

Hollywood's hottest couples often play coy regarding their relationships.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 1:53 pm

William Shatner: Nobody Liked Me

William Shatner says in his autobiography that he never realized until after "Star Trek" ended how much the other cast members disliked him, the New York Daily News reported.
Source: FOXNews.com | 17 Apr 2008 | 1:38 pm

Another 'Idol' finalist eliminated

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Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 17 Apr 2008 | 1:29 pm