2. Pythagora Switch
In these clips from a Japanese TV show, a marble follows a route until it reveals the show title at the end. Then a chorus of kids sing "Pitagora Suitchi," or "Pythagora Switch."
Tools: Household objects
Highlight: The soundtrack

3. Voting Machine
A big political voting machine from the 2004 election. Its vote was later overturned by the courts.
Tools: Erector sets, mousetraps
Highlight: "Yeeargh!"

4. Japanese Contest
A televised competition with giant machines that use bowling balls, bedsheets, and an aquarium.
Tools: Toys
Highlight: Pouring hot water on ramen; chain of fire

5. Nintendo
A game-themed animated machine.
Tools: NES games
Highlight: Duck Hunt

6. Half-Life 2
A custom level of the video game that exploits its advanced physics engine. (An honorable mention uses a Rube Goldberg machine to kick a character in the ass).
Tools: Barrels, ramps, buckets and a watermelon
Highlight: A soldier shoots a standing character on sight; the victim becomes a domino in the machine.

7. Creme That Egg!
A household machine built to squish a Cadbury chocolate egg.
Tools: Paper towel rolls, sliding candle, mallet
Highlight: Tiny toy band with Klezmer music

8. Cog
Honda's famous ad for the Accord, using car parts to lower a ramp for the car.
Tools: Tools from the car; Garrison Keillor's voice (for better sound, view here)
Highlight: The water-sensitive windshield and crawling wipers — or the window mobile

9. Cog Parody
Same as above, with two dudes subbing for most of the machine. Advertised a British phone service.
Tools: Crazy exercisers
Highlight: Dance party

10. World's Most Amazing Trick Pool Shot
One shot drives dozens of billiard balls into holes.
Tools: Dominos, billiard balls
Highlight: French commentators

11. Tim Fort's Kinetic Art
A beautiful domino run with some surprises, built in an empty studio.
Tools: Dominos, matchsticks
Highlight: The unravelling paper roll

12. Chemical Reactions
An excerpt from a half-hour chain reaction, this clip uses loads of tricky geek science and wins "most preparation by someone who's not selling cars."
Tools: Lab equipment including sparklers, flames, oil and a folding ladder
Highlight: Flying ball of flame

13. Sticks And Stones
A natural Rube Goldberg machine built in the forest. I think at 0:47 I saw an Ewok.
Tools: Branches, ropes, stones and bell
Highlight: Spinning leaf whirligig

Lohan mug shot used in liquor industry ad

Actors Extend Their Contract Talks - New York Times

Lindsay Lohan's mugshot used in liquor industry ad

Sofa So Good--Cruise to Oprah: No Regrets

Britney Goes South for the Weekend

Cruise: 'Things have been misunderstood'

Totally Messed Up

Al Sharpton led protests in the wake of the Sean Bell verdict. Chicago helped itself to the federal congestion-pricing funds spurned by Sheldon Silver. Hoboken resident Eli Manning presented an autographed football to President Bush on the South Lawn. A Verizon proposal to crack the Time Warner–Cablevision TV duopoly clicked with City Hall. Gamers zoned out in Gotham doppelgänger Liberty City as Grand Theft Auto IV piled up massive sales in its first week of release. Erstwhile gubernatorial consort Ashley Alexandra Dupré and Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis debated whether she’d flashed her breasts for posterity before or after her 18th birthday.

Bernard-Henri Lévy and Mia Farrow pleaded Darfur’s cause at the French Institute Alliance Française. Fans camped out overnight to catch a mini Madonna show at Roseland. David Blaine definitely inhaled before holding his breath for a world-record seventeen minutes on Oprah. Darren Star threatened to produce a show about Park Slope. Uma Thurman testified about how her alleged stalker freaked her out. And actor turned high roller Robert De Niro rolled out plans for a Nobu Hotel in the financial district. —Mark Adams

Director Brings His Kelly Bag to HSM3

Mariah Blocks Our View to a Marriage

Week in Review: Kicking Back With Our Gat and Taking a Look at the Week That Was

In a week when Grand Theft Auto IV eclipsed pretty much everything else in the universe, what poor pop-culture subjects were run off the road and riddled with bullets? Let's take a look at the carnage of a week on Vulture.

But let's be honest: How much of a chance did anything have against the sweet liberty and sweeter violence of GTA IV? The game cut down critics like wheat, and even waged a full-scale assault on the New York cultural scene. But eventually, GTA IV will fade away, and we'll get excited about other things again. Now if you'll pardon us, we only have 63 hours to play the game before we have to return to work.

Uma’s Stalker Swears He’s One of Those Nice Stalkers

On Thursday, Thurman described a disturbing card that Jordan delivered by hand to her trailer when she was making a movie in Soho. The card showed a drawing of an open grave, a headstone, a man standing on the edge of a razor blade, and the words "chocolate, mouth, soft, kissing." It read, "My hands should be on your body at all times." Thurman testified that pieces of paper fluttered out when she opened the card, one of which was a picture of a bride with her head torn off. Also, it was a religious confirmation card.

Jordan claims that he was simply trying to put his feelings to paper. "I felt I was walking the razor's edge," he said. "This cartoon was meant to amuse her, to endear me to her."

Well, as you can imagine, that didn’t happen. "I was completely freaked out," Thurman told the court yesterday. "It was almost like a nightmare; it was scary."

Thurman also revealed that Jordan sent her e-mails in which he discussed her ex-husband, Ethan Hawke, and their children. "You have no children," one of the notes said, referring to her two kids as an "illusion."

According to the Associated Press, Jordan said that he has been "humiliated" by the trial. "In a misguided way, I was trying to give her an opportunity to meet me and give myself an opportunity to meet her," he said.

Magazine Editors (and Tina Brown!) Issue Shocking Miley Verdicts

Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown: "I just thought, 'There Annie [Liebovitz] goes again! Driving up sales!'" she said. "I saw her here tonight and I congratulated her. I said, 'Great job. Now just put one of those out every quarter.' It's terrific for newsstand and it gets Si [Newhouse] off your back."

Elle editor Robbie Myers: "She's a million dollar industry. She sells out crowds all over the world. She's a huge international star. She has blue jeans on and a sheet. Really? There was never a point when Vanity Fair wasn't fine with those photos. We know they were fine with it because they published it."

New Yorker editor David Remnick: "I think it's sanctimonious nonsense," he said. "And the idea that Disney might pull out their ads — that's ridiculous. When I saw the Today show — how to talk to your children about this, about a performer who struts around the stage in a really hypersexualized way — I mean, the issue of hypersexualization is a very legitimate one. And the magazines who promote that should be apologetic. Like the Atlantic. The Atlantic is very pro-child pornography." [Oh, Remnick, you cad!]

GQ editor Jim Nelson: "I think people just choose somebody or some moment to be moralistic about. I don’t see that picture as being all that provocative or crossing any line. We would have had a seductive shot of Billy Ray Cyrus. No pants, no underwear."

Sports Illustrated Magazine Group editor Terry McDonnell: "It's like blaming rich people for shopping. I didn't say that. I can't remember who did, but someone smarter than me said that about a similar thing."

Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel: "I think her father goes too far. That father is most interested in his restoration as a country music star than in his daughter's fate and fortune... I also think that in a time of war, recession, and skyrocketing food and gas prices, who cares?"

Men's Health editor Dave Zinczenko: "I think it’s a tempest in a teapot. I don’t think it goes anywhere. It’s manufactured hoo-ha."

And finally, the night's big winner, with three National Magazine Awards, National Geographic editor Chris Johns: "I think the whole thing is highly orchestrated. Vanity Fair has nothing to apologize for."
— Jada Yuan

Ugly Betty Rumor Patrol

Grand Theft Auto IV’s Art Director Aaron Garbut on Copycat Games and the Public Bathrooms of Liberty City

What are some of your favorite, small NYC details?
My personal favorite is our take on the National Club in Brighton Beach. We went there as part of a research trip. Russian karaoke versions of European pop songs, jellied sturgeon under cling film, and lots and lots of vodka. When we left, one of the ex-cops who was looking after us had gotten a little drunk and emotional. He confessed that if shit went down at some point during the week, he'd only be able to save one of our lives, and we should decide amongst ourselves who that should be.

I'm fascinated by the idea of this Scottish design team building another New York.
We're not trying to be accurate. We are creating a caricature, a dream of New York. It's a New York people imagine without necessarily having ever been there, or the one they remember when they leave. Liberty is a grotesque echo of the real New York; it's all the best and worst, exaggerated and distilled into a smaller, denser, dirtier, scarier place.

What kind of research did you do?
We also had videos of various junctions throughout the day, set up to record both the changing light and the typical traffic flow, vehicles, pedestrians and the kind of things they did. We read books detailing New York's infrastructure, the sewers, subways, garbage disposal, et cetera. We used Census information to decide on the ethnic demographics for each area of the city. We used architectural plans to define the basic layouts of apartments and used satellite imagery to look at the typical ways city blocks were laid out in each area. We looked at sales figures for make and models of cars to decide what would likely be seen, we went through hundreds of thousands of images, making collections of pedestrians up for each area and we had a full-time research team based in New York that constantly fed us information or additional images and video. Most useful, though, was experiencing things first hand.

What do you remember most about your trips here?
We were in Brighton Beach one day, walking around, not hearing a single word of English being spoken. Someone saw a safe smashed open down a side street and went to check it out. There were two big guys in tracksuits standing there and, in really thick Russian accents; they asked what the fuck we were filming. Someone started joking around with them, and the situation diffused, but it made you think how quickly things can go wrong in these areas. We tried to feed this into the way the gangs work in the game. In previous games, they would just attack you; now we get them to come to you and start hassling you in the hope that you initiate a fight.

Brighton Beach, we were blown away by the vibe of the place. The accents, the way no one seemed to be smiling that morning. We wandered down to the boardwalk and went into the public toilet; inside, one guy in a string vest was shaving, and another exceptionally hairy guy had his shirt off and was washing his pits. We put the toilets into the game as a tribute to them. There's nothing like bumping into a scary guy in a string vest with a cutthroat razor in a public toilet to help set the tone. Or a bunch of us taking photos on 125th Street and being told we were going to be shot if we didn't put the cameras away. That was relaxing.

What do you think about games like Saints Row and True Crime, which are based on the GTA model?
There have been a lot of games inspired by the GTA formula. Some of them take the idea and go somewhere different with it and it progresses the medium. There are a few titles that are more cynical attempts at carbon copies. I find that reprehensible. It's a sign of how immature we are an as industry and as an art form that the kind of extreme plagiarism we're seeing is thought to be acceptable in some way. On a personal level, I think that GTA is made with real passion and has a lot of personality and soul. I couldn't imagine how soul destroying it would be to make a game by the numbers, sitting with a finished game and ripping it off.

From the outside, it's hard for us to tell what the toughest parts of developing a game really are. What would you say was the greatest challenge of GTA IV?
The biggest challenge has been to create and integrate all the detail. We have so much stuff in this game, and it doesn't exist as separate entities, it's all woven together, interrelating in various ways. I remember finding out part way through the project that the audio team were storing the amount of money in each character's pocket — each pocket, mind you, that's left and right — so that they could mix in the right amount of change-jingling noise as they walked past. At the time I thought it was crazy, and it is, but by the end of the project it pretty much fits in with the rest of the game. —Logan Hill

‘Lost’: Guess Who’s Dead!

The Future
Jack wakes up, shaggy and hungover from orange-panty sex with ... Kate, whose hair care secrets we want right now. He's been reading bedtime stories to Aaron, a huge aphrodisiac for Kate, apparently, and Jack's dad comes up in conversation. Then when he goes to the hospital, he spies his dad, which is creepy, because he’s DEAD. Meanwhile, Hurley is off his meds, convinced the Oceanic Six are all in fact dead, and he warns Jack that Dead Charlie told him "You're not supposed to raise him" and that Jack has a visit coming. This makes Jack gloomy; Kate reassures him, he proposes, she accepts. But it's all terribly chronologically sad, because we know that beard is going to grow longer and he'll end up on a bridge. Then a fire alarm beeps, his dad — DEAD! — appears in a lounge chair, or maybe it's all a dream, and anyway, the pill-popping has started and he's catching Kate in a bunch of lies about Sawyer. Ooh, who chose to stay on the island, eh?

The Present
Bernard is up in Daniel's face for some dork-on-nerd interrogation. Sweaty Jack intervenes in the slap-fight, but is interrupted by appendicitis — which, control freak that he is, he decides to treat by doing his own surgery with his love-triangle handmaidens holding mirror and scalpel. There's a horrifying surgical scene and I fainted then, so I don't know what else happened, but suddenly there's an odd Kate/Juliet conversation about Jack's kissing motives and, really, Juliet, concentrate on the stitching.

Meanwhile, Clare, Miles and Sawyer are on their way to the beach. Clare's still recovering from the explosion (and "seeing things"); Miles finds Rousseau and Karl's scary dead bodies; and they all run into Frank Lapidus, who saves them from the Hot Jerks who killed Rousseau. (We hate those guys.) Then Clare sees her Dad, who is also Jack's dad — remember that plot? — cuddling Aaron. (Also: Dad is DEAD). So she walks off into the jungle with him, leaving Aaron behind, which is very scary in every way.

Twitchy and Bitchy say a lot of opaque, untrustworthy things. But Jin suddenly reveals his kickass nature when he figures out Bitchy speaks Korean and extorts a promise that she'll get Sun off the island. Meanwhile, Rose is suspicious of this whole Jack-is-sick plot.

What We Now Know
• Sawyer stayed on the island
• Charlotte speaks Korean
• Jack's dad is everywhere, like God or that pancake syrup smell

The Wha? Factor
• Why? Why? Why is Jack's dad everywhere?
• What's this promise Kate is keeping to Sawyer? And why does it require so much cleavage?
• What was Juliet up to with that whole stitching deal? Did she give Jack Botox on the sly? Sew a time bomb into his belly? Is he the next pregnant man to go on Oprah? —Emily Nussbaum

Naomi Watts’ New Campaign; Get Rihanna’s ’Do

• Commenters don't like Sean John’s new limited-edition follow-up to Unforgivable, Unforgivable Woman Black and Unforgivable Black. What turns them off? The packaging comes wrapped in beads and the press release calls the ingredients “premium and luxurious." But what press release doesn't say things like that? [Now Smell This]

HAIR
• Rihanna’s hair went from long to bob to major crop and her ballsy stylist Ursula Stephen is in NYC this Saturday to spill her secrets at the Carol’s Daughter flagship store on 125th St. and Park Ave. It's gonna rain this weekend so bring your 'ella. [Ellegirl Blog]

MAKEUP
• The Cosmetics Executive Women makeup awards take place at the Waldorf Astoria this afternoon, and early mascara winners are CoverGirl LashBlast in the mass market category, and DiorShow Blackout Mascara won in the prestige category. [Makeup Bag]

• The Natural Products Association revealed a Natural Seal sticker, which will distinguish natural products from synthetic ones. Previously there was no set standard, so now consumers won't be misled. Justice for all! [WWD]

• We’re not prepared for the sweltering, steamy summer ahead (if it ever gets here, dammit), but Cargo Cosmetics is. They just launched a series of limited-edition melt-proof cosmetics at $39 per set. Thank goodness because whenever we bring our bronzer and mascara to the beach everything melts. Yeah, we bring our bronzer and mascara to the beach. [Teen Vogue]

• Someone in Argentina proposed taxing beautiful people because their lives are easier. Um, someone in Argentina really needs to get a life. [Beauty & The Blog/Sephora]

SKIN
• You know how walking around the city in flip-flops all day in the summer makes your feet, like, black? Well Earth Therapeutics created Clean + Cool Foot Wipes, infused with tea tree oil and wild mint to clean dirt and revive overworked feet. They come in packs of fifteen for six dollars so throw 'em in your pocketbook. [Beauty Banter]

Indian Airlines Hates Liberty, America [AnimalNY]

We have to admit we were a little surprised to see the Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson at last night's opening party for Bryan Adams' "Hear the World" photography exhibit. "I'm actually a photographer myself, that's why I was drawn to the project" ?uestlove said, before naming as his favorite Bryan Adams song "The Boys of Summer." More excitingly, he also hinted that a certain mercurial-but-brilliant comedian might be considering a sequel to one of his greatest projects. "He wants to redo Block Party," ?uestlove told us when we asked after Dave Chappelle. "I saw Dave the night of Erykah [Badu]'s birthday party in Dallas." And where would a second installation of Dave Chappelle's Block Party occur? L.A.? Illadelph? "Over in Dubai," said ?uestlove. "Except he wants to spice it up a bit and have us perform with a 60-piece orchestra. He’s just like, ‘Promise me you’re going to rhyme over Star Wars, that’s all I want.’" What on earth are you talking about, we tried to ask, but then ?uestlove said, "Oh crap, I gotta go," and off he went. While we're having a little trouble imagining the atmosphere at a Dave Chappelle party on the Arabian peninsula, we bet Sheik Yerbouti would attend. —Randi Eichenbaum

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 2 May 2008 | 9:50 pm

Marc Ecko at iGoogle: Internet Apps Are the American Dream!

Marc Ecko, being techy and adorable.Photo: Lauren Salazar

If you walk by the corner of Gansevoort and Little West 12th this weekend and you seeing strobing neon lights, don’t worry — you didn’t get meat-market roofied again. The flashing lights are just part of the launch installation for iGoogle’s new theme pages, designed by such luminaries as Diane von Furstenberg, Jeff Koons, Jackie Chan, Anne Geddes, Lance Armstrong, and the Beastie Boys.

Some of the big names were on hand for last night’s launch party and panel discussion. Architect Michael Graves, whose Met exhibit opens next week, was candid about why he signed on board: “I did it because I thought they’d give us Google stock. They didn’t.” Fellow Met alum Koons seemed genuinely excited about the whole process, but it might have been because it gave him an excuse to surf the web: “I spend half my day on the Internet looking for ideas.” You hear that? Jeff Koons could be reading this right now. Jeff, if you are, we think there is an untapped genius in glitter glue.

No one, however, was more enthusiastic than designer Marc Ecko, who proclaimed, “The ability to design apps yourself, that’s what the Internet is about. That’s the American Dream, God Bless America!” When we caught up with him after the panel, we asked what was on his iGoogle page. He replied, “My own theme, of course. It allows me to be completely self-indulgent.” Also making his personal dashboard rotation: a CNN news ticker, a calorie counter, and a daily Yoda quote. —Lauren Salazar

The actress' attorney, Blair Berk, is blasting the ordinarily banal publication as...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 2 May 2008 | 9:37 pm

Harvard Students Reach for ‘Gossip Girl’ Greatness With Gossip Geek Blog

Photo: Getty Images

Blair may have her sights set on Yale, and Dan is destined for Dartmouth, but that isn't stopping Harvard students from following Gossip Girl's lead. Back in February (over exam period, to be exact), an anonymous Ivy Leaguer launched the appropriately titled Gossip Geek, which claims to be "a totally real 100% legit Harvard gossip website." Upon hearing about it, we couldn't wait to see what the Geek had in store for us! Unfortunately (and yet also predictably), we discovered no masquerade balls, mistaken identities, or roofied Diet Cokes at final clubs. Sure, there's a profile on some kid who likes to walk around in Speedos and a list ranking Harvard's "celebrities" (most of whom are members of the Undergraduate Council), but the site is far more Nelly Yuki than Serena van der Woodsen.

Nothing posted has been quite as scintillating as the Yale student whose pornographic past was outed on JuicyCampus.com. "It isn't that Harvard kids are out there in rehab or being promiscuous or anything, but they sure act like people should treat them as such. With awe," Gossip Geek himself (or herself) explained to us over Gchat. "So this culture is just begging to be recorded and parodied." With roughly 47,000 hits since February, Gossip Geek has had at least a small effect on the Harvard community. "Since we first began, we've had dozens of people speculating as to who we are or where we come from and why we do what we do," GG told us. You hear that? Literally dozens. "We knew we made it big when the Crimson published an article stating that the chair of the [school's disciplinary board] wanted anyone who was featured on our site to call the police." The site's creators really knew they "made it" when someone actually did call the cops to report a "suspicious blog." Okay, okay. "A" for effort, Harvard, but we'll stick with Constance Billard, thanks. —Katie Goldsmith

Gossip Geek [Blogspot]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 9:35 pm

Mum's the Word on Iron Man

Iron Man's mouth is sealed tight. At least for now. Paramount wasn't releasing box-office estimates from the film's sneak preview screenings Thursday night. While...

1. Santogold, "Your Voice"
RCRD LBL just dropped this non-album track by Santogold, which finds her not so much puking gold glitter as exhaling golden chill-out ganja fumes. Pretty sweet. [RCRD LBL]

2. Pharoahe Monch, "Broken Heart"
Monch's girl left him just before he was "ready to deliver the ring, just like Frodo the Hobbit." But with tracks this good, he can walk tall. [Passion of the Weiss]

3. The Chap, "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley"
What we assumed would be a song about the gender-switching composer of the Clockwork Orange soundtrack is instead about ... something else. But the music has identity problems in the best way, sounding like Momus mixed with Morricone.
[Pinglewood]

4. Dunproofin', "Alphaboot"
This amazing mash-up of Danish band Alphabeat with the Futureheads inspiring cover of a Kate Bush track (does that make this a cover-up?) is about 50 percent guitar, 70 percent background vocals, and 110 percent fun. [Mashuptown]

5. The Chaingang of 1974, "I Wish Daft Punk Was Playing at My House"
You can tell a lot about Klemtin M. by the title of this song from his new album. For starters, you can tell he's jealous of LCD Soundsystem, which is evident in his sound. You can also tell he's from Denver, because Daft Punk's pyramid would never fit in a New York City. [ Knicken] —Ehren Gresehover

"What does she have to be so miserable about? Being really, really attractive and clearing five million a year as a very mediocre actor?

"SIR GEOFFREY

Why, Adams, you old dog, you - come closer, dear boy. I simply must declare my undying adoration of that filly Seltzer's marvellous mountains!

ADAMS

I hear the talents she so obviously brings are done a disservice by her penchant for lily-gilding, Sir.

SIR GEOFFREY

Indeed, my boy. But it is said amongst no finer crowd than this, that baby may have back - if not front, Adams. Thoughts?

ADAMS

I have heard the same whispers in the self-same corridors, Sir. She undoubtedly has a fine rack, although - if I may speak somewhat out of turn - it appears that she will not be going back after reportedly getting some black.

SIR GEOFFREY

Ah, what a damned shame. My darling Cressida went through the exact same thing in the Congo. Last time I saw her, she was waving goodbye from the back of an elephant, naked as the day I met her. Ah well - I guess it's off to war, then?

ADAMS

Indeed!

SIR GEOFFREY

I meant for you, not me. Of course.

ADAMS

Of course, Sir. Wouldn't dream of it any other way. (EXITS) "

Bravo to all!

Picture a woman of a certain age in Bill Blass–type duds with a cigarette in one hand and a cocktail in the other, dropping dry-witted rejoinders, and Christine Baranski’s snub-nosed visage will probably come to mind. In plays (Rumors, Regrets Only), movies (The Birdcage), and, of course, Cybill — the nineties sitcom where Baranski played Cybill Shepherd's astringent best friend Maryanne Thorpe — her timing and shading have brought such women to life. Now, in her return to Broadway after a long seventeen years, she brings those deadpan chops to the role of Berthe, a dry-tongued maid in the revival of the early-sixties farce Boeing-Boeing, in which a crew of American bachelors living it up in mod Paris scheme to bed stewardesses from as many countries as they can without getting caught. Through the mayhem, Baranski, who turns 56 today, provides the crankily unimpressed commentary. With ten minutes before a rehearsal, she talked to Tim Murphy about the play, which opens this Sunday at the Longacre.

The play is set in the early-sixties Playboy era, when women were depicted as baubles for men to collect. How did that sit with you?
I saw it in London with Meryl Streep on my second-to-last day of shooting Mamma Mia!. We sat there and laughed, delighted. I call it the "What's New, Pussycat?" school of male chauvinism. It's kind of insouciant and charming and you simply can't get away with that now. Skirt-chasing and chauvinism is no longer comedic, but back then, it kind of was.

There's a plethora of wildly exaggerated European accents in this show. Yours is French — what’s the hardest part of faking the accent?
The way they emphasize words. They have a different whole sensibility. There's always a question mark at the end of anything they say like it's open for discussion. The role in England was played with a Cockney accent, but I just didn't hear her as an American. What would she be doing working as a maid in Paris? In the script, her whole temperament seems so Gallic — her superiority and her pessimism.

You probably haven't had time to see Baby Mama, but the parts you and Cybill Shepherd played in the nineties TV show Cybill were part of an evolution leading to female buddy flicks where the girls can be just as raunchy and gross as the guys.
Maryanne was the beginning of a long line of martini-swilling, sassy over-forty women characters that began appearing on lots of TV shows. That was quite seminal.

You’re known for playing those kinds of wise-cracking rich dames. Is this your first domestic?
Actually, one of my first theater roles was playing Doreen [the maid] in Tartuffe, and she's a sassy commentator. Sassy roles are a big part of my career. Most of my career is spent in high heels and glamorous clothes. I just can't tell you how happy I am to be in flats and a little simple wig and not too much make-up.

Speaking of wigs, you wear the same kind of blunt-cut wig in the play and in Mamma Mia!.
For Mamma Mia, it had to be a contrast to Meryl. And I had to be dancing on the beach, so I figured better to have bangs than to have your wig lace show.

What's your nightly routine before curtain?
I get to the theater at least two hours early and eat, usually something light like Japanese food. I go on the stage. I warm up my voice. I run through almost the entire play in a French accent. Then I put on a CD and I speak in French along with a man who's narrating a story. It's some story about a rabbit-wolf. I can't quite figure out what it's about.

Your birthday's been in the news all week, with you saying how it's not worth hiding your age. Happy belated birthday.
Well, it's Friday. They kind of got it wrong. But that's okay. I don't mind people celebrating my birthday for an entire week.
—Tim Murphy

Besides, let's not forget that, in his own autobiography, Geraldo copped to affairs with Liza Minnelli, Chris Evert, Margaret Trudeau, Bette Midler, "and at least 1,000 other women." Geraldo, you went Wack, Thwack, Quack, and Rack — and later you went back. Why can't Barbara? —Noelle Hancock

Geraldo, Like His Mustache, Pointless [Mollygood]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 9:05 pm

Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo Wishes You'd Cover Your Navel

Linda Fargo and the Bergdorf army.Photo: Melissa Hom

Linda Fargo, Senior Vice President, Women's Fashion Director and Store Presentation at Bergdorf Goodman, has perhaps one of the most envied jobs in all of fashiondom: She gets to play all day at Bergdorfs. Fargo oversees the store design, the displays, and, most importantly, the fashion. And she manages to do all this with style and the proverbial grace. Of course, her sense of style has a hard downtown edge that even the skinniest hipster would covet. And we won't lie—we get giddy every time she stops to talk to us at parties. So now it's time to share that giddiness with you.

How do you decide what to buy for the store?
Sometimes I try to envision which of our clients the product would be perfect for. Can I see her in it? Where is she going in it? In terms of which new designers to pick up, sometimes you know it as sure as you are of your name, and other times, we collectively get an inkling that there's something there, and we wait, and watch it evolve for a few seasons. Product has to create lust.

Is what you choose for the store very different from what's in your own closet?
You have to be careful not to shop only with yourself in mind. That's called professional distance. On the other hand, the product has to pass a very personal litmus test too.

Your style is very bold. You wear bright colors, dog collars, amazing accessories. Have you always dressed like this? Where do you get your inspiration?
I think I've built up to it. You know people grow into themselves. I find myself attracted to objects and things, and people for that matter, who have a lot of presence. I'm not drawn to neither-here-nor-there attributes. I never know from day to day what or who is going to inspire me; I just try to keep my eyes and my mind open. I feed on spontaneity and believe that accident is a great collaborator.

Do you ever get inspired from the street?
Always! The "street" is a very rich source. I can credit the gutter with some of many favorite window designs, ranging from skeletal, blown-out and abandoned umbrellas post-downpour, to the haunting beauty of the way a woman looks in the same downpour if she's caught without an umbrella and her mascara is running in inky streams. Thank goodness for phone cameras too, as I routinely snap architectural details, addresses of cool stores, and people wearing something I want to hunt down.

You've worked on Bergdorf's window displays before. What's been your favorite one to do?
The holiday year-end extravagnazas made me and the staff crazy for months, trying to re-invent an old theme, especially with the performance pressure of knowing that thousands of people were going to come to judge them. But when they were finished and we were madly exhausted, they would become my favorites instead of my nemisis. They had to be conquered, so I guess they leave the most lasting impression of affection.

What style advice do you have for those of us without a great discount at Bergdorfs?
As they say, not only does money not buy you happiness — it can't buy you that thing called "style," either. Style requires confidence, the ability to not look back in the mirror, an ability to judge what suits who you are, and the vision to believe that beauty can be found anywhere. I know women who always look unique and have somehow developed a signature without visibly overspending.

Linda picks us out something nice.Photo: Melissa Hom

Bergdorf's has a great old-world feel to it while still having some really avant-garde designers. Do you get a real mix of customers? That eclecticism is probably what I love the most about Bergdorf's! That you can find the most delicious luxury products like Chado and Verdura and Louboutin and then, when you're in another mood, you can discover very edgy modernist pieces from Junya Watanabe, Rodarte, and Martin Margiela. Our lives require range. None of us live a one-note life. Not only is our store environment an intentional blend of eras, but our clients and salesforce are very diverse too. It's very real.

What was the first designer item you bought?
That depends on how far you look back. I can remeber when getting a pair of Levis felt like a "designer" purchase. But the first real, true designer piece was an Azzedine Alaïa skirt suit. I still have it! I spent way beyond reason for it. And it made me feel fabulous.

What accessory do you have your eye on right now?
Probably a rather large, subversive, black-rhinestone necklace from Tom Binns. He's one of our newest and most exciting additions to our designer stable.

What's really selling for spring? What are the big trends that you're seeing?
Color, long flowing dresses, gladiator sandals… Basically anything boho-luxe.

What trends do you personally love for the season?
All the color! Florals! And abstract art-prints are my favorites. Our customers are voting yes, too. It's a very "happy" trend season.

What trends do you wish would go away?
The same ones I always disdain. Anything that's too tarty and vulgar, like navel-baring spaghetti strap summer tanks and dresses which make women look like baby dolls. And, with the exception of for the express purpose of a photoshoot, those 7-inch ankle-breaking platform shoes that don't even function. I always wonder how many girls have had to be hospitalized after falling off those. One day we'll all look back at this moment in fashion and remark on how unflattering and ridiculous those shoes were.

What fashion objects are you lusting after right now?
I already have my eye on fall runway inspiration, so I'm twitching for more great costume jewelry: big, strong, eccentric.

Where do you shop?
Where do you think? Bergdorf’s! Can you imagine how hard it is to work there? Everytime I walk through the store on the tiniest mission, I fall in love with something else I can’t seem to live without. They might as well keep my paycheck.

What designers do you love?
Right now, I'm in line behind many other fans in my adoration and affection for Alber Elbaz. Not only is he a love bug, but what I'm crazy about is how ultimately chic and, at the same time, wearable his clothes are. I can't imagine any woman not looking and feeling effortless, beautiful, and completely, timelessly modern in his clothes.

What designers and labels do you actually wear the most?
I'm the ultimate eclecticist — and besides, in my job, I steer clear of answering questions like this.

What staple item should every woman have in her closet?
I retreat back to beautifully made and shaped basics to which you can add your personality. I hate to say it, but it's perfect little black dresses, a versatile chic black evening shoe, a great shaped black coat, clean and sharp black boots in various heel heights. After that you start to add your jewelry, bags and so on. But that's for me. There are some women who would suffocate if black was their starting point.

What can't you live without?
Laughing! In terms of what's essential for keeping me feeling presentable, I would have to say black mascara and the perfect pair of black boots.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 9:00 pm

The Six Best Jokes From Wednesday Night’s Chris Rock Show at MSG

Photo: Getty Images

At the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, Chris Rock brought his A-game, even if we'd already read most of his good lines in recent profiles. Here are the best of the rest:

1. Calling for a hit on Flavor Flav: "He needs to be killed. Flavor Flav must be killed. I'm serious" — because he worries that Republican operatives will try to use Flav to bring down Obama. "Would you vote for somebody who has anything in common with Flav?"

2. On his neighbors: "[My only three black neighbors are] Mary J. Blige, one of the greatest singers of all time, Denzel Washington, one of the greatest actors of all time, and Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers of all time." His white neighbor? "A dentist. And he isn't like the greatest dentist in history either. I had to host the Oscars to get that house — a black dentist in my neighborhood would have to invent teeth."

3. On John McCain: "We don't need a president with a bucket list. Who's going to be his VP? A nurse?"

4. On Clinton's experience: "My wife, we've been married 10 years, but if she got on stage now, y'all wouldn't laugh at all."

5. On Obama: "We've never seen a black man so cool — that wasn't in the music business..." ...and Reverend Wright: "Have you ever met a 75-year-old black man in this country that wasn't angry? I mean, they have a few reasons."

6. On voting: "They don't want you to vote. If they did, we wouldn't vote on a Tuesday. In November. You ever throw a party on a Tuesday? No. Because nobody would come." —Logan Hill

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 2 May 2008 | 8:50 pm

Park Slope Already Nervous About Their Portrayal on Darren Star’s Show

Brooklyn Heights: Why'd the chicken cross the street? To get to James Weir Floral Company, the oldest business on Montague, which is moving…across the street! Get it? [Brooklyn Eagle via Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Park Slope: Slopies wonder if they'll be portrayed as glamorous, svelte, child-neglecting, adulterous hedonists in the possible TV show based on the hood. They can hope. [Curbed]
South Bronx: This summer, the floating swimming pool's coming here, home of the only community board in the city without a pool. Everybody on the 6 and into the SoBro pool! [Brooklyn Paper]

Staten Island: It's rare that we get to include S.I. items that we're gonna drop this even without a hood attached: So many cute deer are swimming across the Arthur Kill from New Jersey and populating S.I. that the state is doing its first deer count there. How cute is that, right? [amNY]
Upper West Side: Does the just-unveiled new facade of 2 Columbus Circle more readily spell out "HE," "HI," or "EH"? Whatever it spells, it doesn't sound like the architect is happy about it. [NYT]
Williamsburg: The vacate order has been lifted on 475 Kent, where matzo was being made illegally in the basement, but apparently tenants aren't allowed to move back in. Which leaves us feeling flat. [Brownstoner]
Windsor Terrace: It ain't such a low-rent Slope around here that folks won't complain when the booze shop sells to drunks who then pass out with their leg braces blocking the sidewalk! [Gowanus Lounge]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 8:35 pm

Artist Tomma Abts Pop-ifies the Bat Signal

Tomma Abst’s Meko (2006)Courtesy of James-Keith Brown and Eric G. Diefenbach

Tomma Abts is a Turner Prize–winning painter whose mini-canvasses, fourteen of which are on view at the ever-improving New Museum, could break your brain with all the rays and zigs and zags. Sometimes, like here, all this gushing abstract paint reminds us of those POW!s in the old Batman TV show — or the Bat Signal itself; other times, layers of limes and pinks painted in tidy swirls and chunky squares evoke tasty fruit, like a drippy watermelon or gentle slices of lemon. At once pristine and unwieldy, the paintings will be on display through June 29. —Emma Pearse

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 2 May 2008 | 8:30 pm

Burning Q's: Swollen Posses & Madge-Bashing

We always see celebrity women with a huge entourage and assistants, but do the guys have assistants, too? I mean the macho guys like George Clooney and Brad Pitt, even Ving Rhames? ...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 2 May 2008 | 8:29 pm

We’re Glad We’re Not Pitching to Naomi Campbell on ‘Ugly Betty’

Campbell for "team 'Elle'"Photo: Splash News

If you thought Christian Siriano's cameo on last night's Ugly Betty was awesome just wait until Naomi Campbell shows up. Now when we learned she was heading to Mode we had to know: Does she play herself? Naomi revealed she plays "a loony who loves to shop and can't find a man." So it seems the jury's still out on that one. Zing! But her character is also the designated hitter for Elle magazine's softball team, which plays against Mode magazine:

Campbell was taught how to play the game before filming and discovered she has a very powerful swing. She says, "I was given a crash course in playing softball and at one point hit the ball so hard it actually broke in half!
"I had a fantastic day on set, the cast and crew were lovely. The coach said he had never seen anyone pick up the game so quickly."

So either Ugly Betty has a really crappy prop budget or Naomi Campbell is really good at hitting. Hmmm...

NAOMI CAMPBELL - CAMPBELL LEARNS SOFTBALL FOR UGLY BETTY [Contact Music]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 8:25 pm

Summer Movie Guide III: So-Freakin'-Funny Edition!

Adam Sandler goes from spy to stylist, Steve Carell gets smart, Will Ferrell's a big loser (but what's new?), Mike Myers is here to help, Seth Rogen loses his stash, and Ben Stiller goes...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 2 May 2008 | 8:25 pm

Sean Stewart's Brick-Tossing Charges Tossed

Some guys have all the luck, especially if they happen to be Rod Stewart's kid. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has tossed four felony charges against Sean Stewart stemming...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 2 May 2008 | 8:24 pm

Eating Brunch Outside Before It's Time: A Debate

Okay, so this picture is actually from Germany, where this kind of brunching is normal, but it sort of adds to the issue.Photo: Getty Images

CRISTAL: So I ate brunch outside this weekend, for the first time.
CRISTAL: It was awesome.
NOELNOEL: See, I don't understand why all of New York suddenly decides it needs to eat outside when the temperature rises above 50 degrees. It's too cold to eat outside right now.
NOELNOEL: We look ridiculous. Eating outside with our coats on?
CRISTAL: I was actually wearing a very fetching polo that accentuated my arms, I'll have you know.
CRISTAL: And, as a matter of fact, I was freezing.
CRISTAL: But it doesn't make you happy to see people out on the sidewalks eating again? It's so festive!
NOELNOEL: Sure, it's nice for the passersby, but why is everyone so excited to sit outside and stare at a loud noisy street and the dogs that are coming by and taking shits in front of them on the sidewalk while they're eating?

CRISTAL: Because when it's still cool out, the city doesn't smell like a special blend of pee, vomit, and rotting food, like it does in the summer.
NOELNOEL: I had drinks outside with some friends the other day, and it must've been 50 degrees. We could barely hold our glasses we were shaking so hard, saying, “Maybe we’ll warm up after a few drinks!”
CRISTAL: Did you warm up after a few drinks?
NOELNOEL: Yeah, because that's when we gave up and went inside.
CRISTAL: But didn't you think to yourself, "All those stressed-out people on the sidewalk running to get somewhere — they must be soooo jealous of us here with our cocktails."
CRISTAL: That's how I make most of my decisions.
CRISTAL: Based upon the level of jealousy the results will stir in others.
NOELNOEL: I like the idea of eating outside, but it’s just not a pleasurable experience at that temperature. It's like when you start masturbating and know it's not going to be a good orgasm, but you keep going. You're not even enjoying it, but you feel like you have to see it through till the end.
CRISTAL: Ew.
CRISTAL: I once ate dinner in the East Village in the rain under a giant umbrella that I was holding. Myself.
CRISTAL: I kind of considered it my New Yorkest moment ever.
CRISTAL: But, in retrospect, it may have been my most assholic.
NOELNOEL: We should make this IM conversation into a post and see what the commenters think about brunching outside too early in the season.*

*Noelle did not actually say this

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 8:05 pm

Andrew Garfield on ‘Boy A’ and Heath Ledger

Photo: WireImage

Just 24, Andrew Garfield has already broken out in Britain as a hot young stage star — and now he's breaking into film, with roles in Lions for Lambs, The Other Boleyn Girl, and the lead part in the British indie Boy A, currently at Tribeca and opening in New York later this summer. Garfield plays Jack, a young convict who spent most of his adolescence in jail as a result of a childhood crime — and his contained, tense performance more than confirms theater-world rumors of his talent.

Boy A takes on a pretty archetypal story — an ex-con gets out of jail and readjusts to life on the outside. How did you make it feel fresh?
I try to just try to bring as much of myself to it as possible — which I guess is trying to make it as unique as possible. To not to be acting in a film you know.

What do you mean by that?
I try to avoid acting at all costs, all those obvious tricks and traps you can fall into.
It's just so easy to do a performance that's been seen before. My main concern was: Why the hell does this girl fall for him? We had to bring in some more lightness, some more joy and funniness between them. I think it's wicked. I'm really chuffed, actually. I wasn't sure if it was gonna be any good or not.

As a young actor, do you find yourself trying out new methods each time out?
I'm totally trying out different things every time. I've been so lucky to be working with very established actors and young actors who have different ways of working. Peter Mullan plays my social worker, and he's the most fantastic, naturalistic, weighty actor. But he would do no preparation. Before scenes, he'd be chatting and I'd go, "Sorry man, I'm not in the mood to talk. I have to work myself up into a state." Peter was very Brechtian. He says: You're a human being before and after action and cut. Just remember you're relating to human beings all the time. Acting isn't so different. It doesn't take so much effort.

You worked with Heath Ledger on Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. What did you pick up there?
The amount of stuff he left me with was astonishing. I will never ever lose hold of what he had to offer. He just had this total spontaneity and the ability to do anything at any point: fly off the handle or joke. It was electrifying and I never knew what he was going to do — like punch me, you know? But how he did it is a mystery to me.

Mark O'Rowe, who wrote Boy A, also wrote that terrific, very show-offy script for Intermission. This is much more restrained. I love that line, "They're so fucking delicate, people. They die so easy."
He has a real ear for regional rhythms — and a kind of lyricism. Lines are very simple, but these mundane things become kind of poetic. He lifts it just slightly. It's all very simple and pure, and not clever.

How'd you get into this kid's skin?
It's difficult to say. I guess I go inside myself, and use my own life as reference. Usually there is some way to relate to everyone in the world if you look hard enough. You'll find common ground with a suicide bomber, with a transvestite who likes having sex with pigs. You'll find some kind of perversion of your own. Everything's inside of you.

When are you going to do theater here?
I might be coming to do a play reading in New York soon. Right now, I don't have to be the actor who works for the sake of working. Going from Imaginarium to something I'm half-assed about, that would just be so depressing.

Is it all going to be such dark stuff?
I really would like to do something light. Terry's movie is hilarious, it's ridiculous vaudeville. I do stupid things and it was fun as hell — just fucking stupid stuff. It really made me think this is what I should do next. Judd Apatow is genius, I think. He's defining this decade of comedy, like what Monty Python did for their generation. I'd love to work with him. —Logan Hill

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 2 May 2008 | 8:00 pm

Louboutin Signs Shoes, Shrugs Off Met's Superhero Theme

Make it out to Patti.Photo: Melissa Hom

Yesterday at Barneys New York, Christian Louboutin parted the red-soled sea of eager women in line to get their shoes signed. Even Patti Freakin' LaBelle popped by with a whole trunk full. In the midst of the chaos, we stole a minute with the footwear icon. From our Fashion Director, Harriet Mays Powell’s, Studio Visit last year, we gleaned he designed heels with sexy French showgirls in mind. But what modern gals inspire him? “Well, Dita Von Teese is the obvious one, but there’s a big spectrum of performance artists. Like as a dancer, Madonna. Or Beyoncé is a great artist. Even some actresses like Angelina Jolie. It’s really about body language, attitude, and how you carry yourself.” Speaking of actresses, he hadn’t read or heard anything about Gwyneth Paltrow's sky-scraping shoe choices. But he did get a text message about something with Gwyneth, so maybe it was related? Yup, Louboutin texts! He’s also planning on attending next week’s Met Gala but don’t expect him to arrive in a cape and tights. “For me, the idea of superhero is about the big shoulders. And I don’t have those, so I’m going to skip that.” We also asked about his favorite spring shoe, which he had trouble recalling. “You have to understand that, for me, spring was a year ago.” Luckily, all the shoes on display were pretty amazing. One day we dream of owning a pair, but it looks like we’ll be saving up for a while. The designer outright dismissed the idea of a cheaper diffusion line.

After the jump, some shoes to dream about. —Kendall Herbst

They're practical shoes!Photo: Melissa Hom

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 7:45 pm

‘The Office’: A Taste of Darryl

Photo courtesy NBC

For the first time all season, we got a little Darryl last night. We were only granted one brief scene with the burly warehouse leader, but we were reminded again why we think a spin-off sitcom with him as the lead would be the driest, most deadpan brilliant show on television. You wouldn’t even need a plot. You could just have a selection of random idiots just walk up to Darryl and watch him react. It would be like Curb Your Enthusiasm, if the part of Larry David were played by the entire world.

Last night’s idiot was Michael — of course — who seemed to think not only that Darryl had been in a gang, but also that this wisdom would help him deal with an insubordinate Stanley, who had insulted him in front of the whole office. The episode once again tiptoed that line between Michael being too incompetent to run a Dairy Queen and Michael having the brief moment when you understand how he could have possibly become a boss in the first place. Those are always the more effective moments; as we’ve mentioned, Michael is always more believable when he’s not acting like Homer Simpson.

But without question, the highlight of the episode was Dwight’s Office Work Chart, which details the hierarchy of Dunder Mifflin while allotting for the apocalyptic “Dwight has absolute power” emergency scenario. NBC.com’s helpful PDF features some great sly jokes, including Stanley with a Black Power icon, Oscar with two male symbols and poor, doomed Toby with a star of David with a question mark. It also has Dwight as the “original associate regional manager,” above Jim, who is the actual associate regional manager. (But perhaps not for long, now that coked-up Ryan has him in his sights.) It even comes with a chart for menstrual cycles!

We still haven’t had our big Jim-Pam moment, which will likely end up defining the end of this truncated season, but seeds were planted. Could their relationship survive a Jim firing? A bold prediction: Jim will be canned in the last episode, if just to curse Toby, who will be leaving right when his path to Pam was finally cleared. He really should just pay closer attention to the chart. —Will Leitch

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 2 May 2008 | 7:30 pm

Our Night at the ASMEs: Sportier Than Anticipated

National Geographic editor Chris Johns, whose
magazine took home three awards.Photo: AP

At last night's American Society of Magazine Editors' awards ceremony, it actually felt fitting when the editor of Backpacker magazine got more laughs than the three actors from 30 Rock — Katrina Bowden, Lonny Ross, and Judah Friedlander — who'd been dragged into service as presenters. ("This is a night celebrating magazine writers," someone commented after the ceremony. "Can't they find anyone decent to, you know, write the material?") Indeed, the other celebrity presenters, including Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper (who sped through his lines like a man rushing to make his date with a tropical storm), and Padma Lakshmi (who may be the slowest speaker on earth), hardly seemed necessary. As the night progressed, it became exceedingly clear that magazine editors can handle their cynical barbs quite well without the help of fancy-pants television personalities.

The self-deprecation had begun almost immediately. As we walked into the room, one editor after another gloomily predicted that he would bring home no Ellies that night. "I know we're not going to win. We're a year-old magazine," said Radar 's Maer Roshan. "I know I will not have to go up there," chimed in Time's Rick Stengel. "I guarantee you that." For the record, they were both right.

The New Yorker's David Remnick went even darker: "I’ll tell you, it’s not enough that we must win," he said before the show. "It’s that others must lose." His magazine took the general-excellence award in its category.

Vanity Fair won two awards, for profile-writing and photo portfolio. Ellie stalwarts like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, GQ, and, yes, New York won only one award each (ours was for our "Cartography" package, in the leisure-interests category), as did an exciting range of lesser-known titles, several winning their first-ever awards. (Field & Stream won for its annual Rut issue, whatever that might be.) On accepting VF's first award, Graydon Carter warned the crowd that he'd had an emergency root canal that afternoon, "so if I start drooling, just ignore it." (He didn't, disappointingly.)

The highlight of the evening was probably another celebrity presenter: former New York Met Lenny Dykstra. He's launching a magazine of his own! Dykstra appeared slightly out of sorts and was reluctant to relinquish the microphone, despite having already presented two awards, for personal service and online personal service. In a Babe Ruth–calling-his-famous-home-run moment, Dykstra promised his mag, The Players Club, would pick up the personal-service award next year.

As people were filing out, we caught Remnick and asked him about his earlier pessimism.

Remnick: Stick around, and you’ll realize that’s how I always am. Pessimism is what gets me up in the morning. That gnawing feeling of not being good enough.
New York: Isn’t that how all editors are?
Remnick: No, that’s how I am as a person. I don’t think I changed as an editor. Before I edited The New Yorker, the only thing I’d edited was my high-school newspaper.
New York: Did Graydon Carter drool on you?
Remnick: He always drools on me. He’s disgusting that way.
New York: Did he really have a root canal, or was that just Graydon being Graydon?
Remnick: Well, he looked a bit swollen in the jaw. His best line ever, though, was when his hair was a little longer and he said, “I look exactly like Barbara Bush, without the pearls."
New York: Did he?
Remnick: Yeah. A little.
New York: Do you consider Lenny Dykstra a threat?
Remnick: We did a profile of Lenny Dykstra. He’s a nut job. In a nice way. We’d just have to take his knees out.

Now that's what we call editing. —Jada Yuan and Jesse Oxfeld

National Magazine Award Winners [Magazine.org]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 7:20 pm

Should 'Hannah Montana' Be Sexy?

Experts say Disney brand is strong enough to survive semi-nude photo.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 May 2008 | 7:15 pm

Kate Moss Stars in A Weird New Internet Lingerie Movie

Kate Moss stars in the new Agent Provacteur campaign for its bridal line and it's a doozy. First we've got six — yes, six — internet movies, each of which correspond to print ads shot by Nick Knight. Each movie and ad are meant to depict "the demise of a bride's 'big day' and serialize the unraveling of the religious organization behind it." The jokes write themselves here, don't they? You can see the print ads here. The themes represented include "The Happiest Day of Her Life," "The Garden of Eden," "Bad News," "Frenzy," "Revenge," and "Let Them Eat Kate."

Now, if you're still following along, the first movie to go with the ads is up at SHOWstudio.com, and is called, yup, "White Wedding." Here's how SHOWstudio describes it:

From [Agent Provacateur founder] Joe Corré's screenplay directions that the heroine bride — Kate Moss — should appear "romantic, pink and full of hope" on the eve of her 'White Wedding', Nick Knight's first campaign image of six addresses all the classic elements of a kitsch boudoir scene: the powder-puff palette; the love heart vignette; the handheld mirror; a sweet butterfly hovering over virgin flesh. Meanwhile the accompanying film employs the help of a naked harpist to push the footage in more poetic direction.

We'd describe it as grainy slow motion shots of Kate Moss posing in a white lacey babydoll within a weird, rocking heart frame, but to each her own. Each day through Wednesday, May 7 we get a new one of these suckers. Oy, this really is the most complicated ad campaign ever.

WHITE WEDDING: Scene One, The Happiest Day of Her Life [SHOWstudio]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 7:15 pm

Miley Turns Her Back Again ... at Media

In the wake of racy photo scandal, teen star won't appear at red carpet event.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 May 2008 | 7:14 pm

McDreamy Misses in 'Made of Honor'

Patrick Dempsey's latest big-screen foray borrows from a predictable formula.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 May 2008 | 6:42 pm

Nina Garcia Explains Why the Fashion Industry Is So Fierce

Photo: Getty Images

The May issue of Hong Kong's Prestige magazine includes a profile of Nina Garcia. The magazine interviewed Garcia before she lost her job as fashion director at Elle (she continues to mull over the magazine's offer of a lesser title). Prestige explains things got rocky for Garcia post-maternity leave. New creative director Joe Zee had sashayed in and racked up his very own column "Style A to Zee" (which we feel paled in comparison to Nina's column "Fashionina"). Can't someone who's not a famous actress have a kid these days and keep their career intact? Anyhow, we know Nina to be a very nice, humble lady, and though she's not the type to talk trash or pretentiously blather about fashion and herself, she does explain why the fashion industry is so vicious:

Looking back on our conversation, Garcia must have known her position was precarious. “Yes, there is a lot of pressure,” she concedes. “But having my son is a very big source of strength. You have to keep it all in perspective. Some people can be very jealous, competitive or mean. But I think that happens in every business. It’s a little more highlighted in the fashion industry, because it’s a creative business. What happens when it’s creative … nobody knows how long they’re going to be there. The turnover is very quick. So people get even more insecure about their jobs and positions, the hierarchy. It’s silly! But you have to keep it in perspective. It’s only fashion.”

Yes, it's only fashion. And it's only Project Runway LA (half the season, anyway). So let Elle have it and you enjoy playtime with your new son.

The Cutthroat Life [Prestige]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 6:40 pm

Jon Stewart Interviews Talks at Howard Dean on ‘The Daily Show’

We loves us some Jon Stewart, but dude talked way too much during Howard Dean’s appearance on The Daily Show last night. In fact, we tallied it up, and Stewart talked for 5 minutes and 43 seconds, and Dean clocked in at a mere 1 minute and 45 seconds. It was basically a complete inverse of how an interview should work. The chairman of the Democratic National Committee is a pretty newsworthy guest and someone from whom the people might have wanted to extract information. But Stewart barely asked any questions, and the ones he did ask were not about the campaign or the candidates. Instead, he brought up tired issues like electability, the Michigan-Florida debacle, and the difference between a delegate and a superdelegate. Though we did appreciate the twenty seconds devoted to the Moons Over My Hammy at Denny's, we wished there had been more specific questions about Hillary and Barack. For instance, will this really come down to the convention? What does he think about the maddening, dogged, perverse perseverance of the Hillary campaign, which is why this has gone on so long? Yesterday, she said that even if she lost North Carolina and Indiana, she would keep on going. Can’t the DNC just take care of this with one well-aimed blow dart? —Noelle Hancock

Howard Dean [Daily Show]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 6:30 pm

Meet the Guys Who Make "The Hills" Rock

The series' music gurus talk breaking bands, that inescapable theme song and whether Heidi's tunes will make the show

Though The Hills is synonymous with Lauren and Heidi, it's Joe Cuello and Jon Ernst who really make the show worth watching. Cuello, MTV's Vice President of Music Integration, and Ernst, the series' Music Supervisor, spend each week expertly pairing songs with footage in order to convey love, loss and cheerful vacancy. Here, they talk to Rolling Stone about the show's patron saint Natasha Bedingfield, breaking new bands on the program and whether we can expect a Heidi Montag tune to pop up in an...

Source: Rolling Stone: Features | 2 May 2008 | 6:12 pm

Gareth Pugh Has Arrived, and He’s Throwing a Dance Party

The Batman dress, Pugh, and the MisShapes. Party!Photo Illustration: Getty Images

So many VIP fashion designers are flying into town for the Met Gala that it almost feels like Fashion Week. Gareth Pugh's not only here early, he's throwing a dance party with the MisShapes tomorrow night at the Tribeca Grand. Pugh's Batman-inspired creation (pictured above) has become the poster dress for the Costume Institute's new exhibit. So Febreeze your skinny jeans, don a Batman mask, and go chat up Mr. Pugh and Co. tomorrow night. Maybe you can convince him to take you to the gala. Or at least hide you in one of his outfits so you can sneak by security.

GrandLife NYC, MissShapes [sic] & Seven New York Invite you to a night with: Gareth Pugh & Tommy Saleh
Gareth Pugh
Joseph Quartana
The MissShapes [sic]
Spencer Product
2 Mandy DJs

This Saturday May 3rd: 10pm-3am

Tribeca Grand Hotel
2 Avenue of the Americas

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 6:00 pm

Pellicano Jury to Begin Day Two of Deliberations

Jurors began deliberations Thursday to determine if Pellicano spearheaded an illegal scheme that wiretapped stars.
Source: FOXNews.com | 2 May 2008 | 5:57 pm

‘National Geographic’ Takes Home Three Awards at ASME Ceremony

MEDIA
• National Geographic took home three National Magazine Awards last night, while Vanity Fair, also a front-runner, received two. [NYP]
• Oh, it's on! Lenny Dykstra, a former Mets outfielder who founded the new magazine Players Club, which is targeted at affluent athletes, is embroiled in a legal battle with the glossy's publisher, Doubledown Media. But is Dykstra going to buckle? "I don't buckle," he says. "I go to war." [NYP]
• Fox News appears to have warmed to the Democratic Party. [NYT]

FINANCE
• Today's Wall Street weather report: Things are looking sunny. [NYT]
• Wall Street watches as Warren Buffett prepares for his annual shareholders' meeting, in Omaha, Nebraska. Meanwhile, the billionaire's empire is under scrutiny in an antitrust probe. [DealBook/NYT, NYP]
• Stephen Schwartzman probably wasn't thrilled to hear this news: Merrill Lynch analysts downgraded the private-equity firm's stock from "buy" to "neutral." [DealBook/NYT]

LAW
• John Randolph Hearst's $20 million fraud-and-legal-malpractice case has been reinstated. The lawsuit claims that his wife book advantage of his ill health by transferring $20 million of his property into her name and that his lawyer, Leonard Ackerman, aided in the fraud. [Law.com]
• Rudy Giuliani is trying to make a name for his law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani. [Law.com]
• Skadden Arps clocked a 38 percent increase in pro bono hours last year. [NYT]

REAL ESTATE
• Andre Balazs sells off the Hotel QT, but his Standard NY makes headway. [HotelChatter]
• Renzo Piano's design for a downtown Whitney Museum has met with community approval. [NYS]
• Meanwhile, the Sports Museum of America opens in lower Manhattan next week. [Downtown Express]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 2 May 2008 | 5:45 pm

Ex-Sen. Edward Brooke Mum on Barbara Walters Affair

Former U.S. Sen. Edward Brooke declined to comment Friday about whether he had an affair with Barbara Walters in the 1970s.
Source: FOXNews.com | 2 May 2008 | 5:42 pm

'Hee Haw' comedian dies at 66

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 2 May 2008 | 5:26 pm

Britain's 'Rambow' Packs a Sweet Punch

British indy film 'Son of Rambow' is a sweet, edgy coming-of-age story.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 May 2008 | 5:19 pm

Isaac Mizrahi's New Vlog

Isaac vlogging.Photo: isaacmizrahiny.com

There just aren't enough vlogs these days, so Isaac Mizrahi is stepping up to his low-quality video camera to fill that void. He's got a new vlog on his revamped Website, and we suggest you set aside the eighteen minutes you'll spend eating your salad this afternoon to watch all six vlogtastic episodes. We love them all: We feel like we're meeting Real Isaac for the first time. Not Fake Isaac who talks to reporters at parties or fashion shows, but Real Isaac, who worries about his Weight Watchers meetings and gets upset when his assistant doesn't tell him about the In Style photo shoot and he comes to work in a tan jacket (episode 6). Or Real Isaac who takes pictures of himself in his bathroom mirror in his Bridgehampton house because it has the best lighting in the whole wide world (episode 5). Or Real Isaac who feels claustrophobic at charity galas and cocktail parties, especially those held at the low-ceilinged Waverly Inn (episode 1). See, the Waverly Inn freaks famous people out, too! So, what are you waiting for? Isaac is ready to share. He needs to share. Let him, won't you?

ISAAC'S VIDEO BLOG [ISAAC MIZRAHI via UnBeige]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 2 May 2008 | 5:15 pm

Dr. Phil on the news

Dr. Phil McGraw joined "Larry King Live" on Thursday where he talked about some of the stories in the news. He touched on topics ranging from the removal of children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sect to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the Austrian family affected by incest.