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Jacobs arriving punctually to the Met ball with Sofia
Coppola, Helena Christensen, and his new beard.Photo: Getty Images
"He spends most of his time partying until morning in Paris," a friend said. "It's out of control. There's always a different boy and everyone is worried he's going to pull a Halston" — referring to the legendary designer whose work suffered due to drinking and drugs. Halston died of AIDS in 1990. Jacobs, since breaking up with his former rent-boy boyfriend Jason Preston, has been linked with porn star Erik Rhodes, boy toy Austin A. and now the new mystery man.
So perhaps he's too party-pooped to shave these days? The Post also reports Jacobs brought the above-mentioned mystery man to Monday's gala, where he showed up "two hours late," though we did see him on the carpet with Helena Christensen and Sofia Coppola — and they were perfectly punctual. So he had another dude on his arm — player-hating aside, isn't it really a matter of whether Jacobs, who's been in and out of rehab, is staying away from the bottle and the like? At least Anna still has faith in the guy. She's reportedly honoring him at the ball next year.
MERRY MARC WORRIES PALS [NYP]
Photo: Getty Images
Related: Pete Wentz Designs and Wears Women's Clothes [Cut]
EVENTS
• Celebrate the success of Project Runway’s Alison Kelly when she launches her line Dahl by Alison Kelly at Alter in Brooklyn tonight. Alter, 109 Franklin St., at Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn (718-784-8818); 7–10.
SALES
STARTING TODAY
• ADAM’s basic tees, asymmetrical dresses, and halter-wrap tops are 70 to 85 percent off; a striped tank dress is now $79. Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., at 16th St. (212-675-2022); Thurs. and Fri. (10–7); Sat. (10–6).
• Prices on Derek Lam’s ruffle-sleeve blouses (now $200) and satin crewneck dresses (now $750) are still a bit steep, but it beats the $590 to $1,790 prices at Barneys. Through 5/9. 601 W. 26th St., at Eleventh Ave., seventeenth fl. (212-929-1338); Thurs. and Fri. (10–6).
• The line Lafayette 148 is holding their sample sale today, featuring dresses for $20 to $35 (orig. $498), skirts for $15 to $30 (originally $348), knits for $10 to $30 (originally $298), and leather jackets for only $45 to $90 (originally $898). 148 Lafayette St., nr. Grand St. (877-523-1488); Thurs.–Fri. (9–7), Sat. (9:30–5).
• Shop for a good cause today. The March of Dimes has its sample sale, an event you must buy tickets for, featuring tons of fun Milly clothes on heavy discount. Gary's Loft, 28 36th St., at Fifth Ave., penthouse level (212-353-1012); 5–8.
• Angel Sanchez is holding a private sample sale featuring their designer bridal gowns. Through 5/9. 526 Seventh Ave., nr. 38th St., ninth fl. (212-921-9827); 10–5.
• Silk tops and printed dresses from Twinkle by Wenlen are up to 70 percent off today and today only. 545 Eighth Ave., nr. 37th St.; 12–8.
• The leather clutches, totes, and shoulder bags from Magnes Sisters are 30 percent off today only, too. 251 W. 39th St., nr. Eighth Ave., eighth fl. (212-938-0078); 4–7.
• Scoop up shoes from Butter, Tibi, Something Bleu, and Nancy Geist for below wholesale prices at this cash only sale. Shoes that were $250 to $600 are now $100 to $140. Through 5/13. 307 Seventh Ave., nr. 27th St., Ste. 2307 (212-366-1822); Thurs., Fri., Mon., Tues. (10–7).
• John Varvatos’ tailored men’s clothing, shoes, and accessories are up to 75 percent off at their sample sale starting today. Through 5/10. 26 W. 17th St., nr. Fifth Ave., ninth fl.; Thurs. (8–8), Fri. (8–6), Sat. (11–4).
• The select designer stock at Intermix is 40 percent off starting today for this weekend days only. Good deal. Check out all their locations here .
ENDING TODAY
• For the past decade, the Paul Smith Bespoke line has been available exclusively at his London store. But with fans like actor Daniel Day-Lewis, it's become increasingly popular. So it's coming Stateside. Prices begin at about $5,000. Paul Smith, 142 Greene St., nr. W. Houston St. (646-613-3060); 11–7.
• The classic shapes of Lambertson Truex’s men’s and women’s bags, shoes, and small leather goods are marked down by up to 80 percent. 317 W. 33rd St., nr. Eighth Ave. (718-747-1656); 9–6:30.
• LAI's luxe leather and exotic-skin bags, clutches, and small giftables (think belts and card cases) are on sale; alligator handbags were $1,300 to $7,500 but are now $600 to $3,000. 12 W. 57th St., nr. Fifth Ave., Ste. 403 (212-245-4675); 10–6.
• Women’s skirts, pants, jackets, and knits from Zanella are marked down to sample-sale prices starting today. Through 5/8. 5 E. 51st St., nr. Fifth Ave., second fl. (212-371-2121); 9–5
STARTING TOMORROW
• Rogan for Target's cute organic clothes debut at Barneys. They're only stocked in the high-end store for a few days. Through 5/11. Barneys New York, 660 Madison Ave., at 61st St., Co-Op fl. (212-826-8900); 10–8.
• Pieces like gold-filigree chandelier earrings, raffia bangles, and vintage beaded necklaces are $5 to $90 at Wendy Mink. Through 5/11. 72 Orchard St., nr. Grand St. (212-260-5298); Fri. (2–8); Sat. and Sun. (noon–7).
• Jill Platner's signature sterling-silver bracelets, necklaces, and earrings are 15 to 50 percent off. Through 5/11. 113 Crosby St., nr. Houston St. (212-324-1298); Fri.–Sun. (noon–7).
• Everything at the Mika Inatome sale (where bridal gowns usually run $2,000 to $3,500) is up to 90 percent off. Through 5/15. 93 Reade St., nr. Church St., second fl. (212-966-7777); 5/9–5/15 (by appointment only).
ENDING TOMORROW
• Juliana Cairone is taking 20 percent off Azzedine Alaïa, Hervé Léger , and Christian Dior at Rare Vintage. 24 W. 57th St., nr. Fifth Ave., Ste. 501 (212-581-7273); 5/7–5/9 (11:30–6).
• After the Friends and Family Day sale of Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Borbonese clothes and accessories, the sale opens to the rest of us with 75 percent markdowns. Through 5/9. 30 W. 57th St. , nr. Sixth Ave., fourth fl. (212-246-1605); 5/5–5/9 (10–6).
• Sandals, boots, and shoes from Sigerson Morrison and the less pricey Belle line are $75 to $150. Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., nr. Sixth Ave. (212-897-0795); Thurs. (8–7); Fri. (8–2).
• Jewelry from Alexia Crawford is up to 80 percent off this week in honor of Mother’s Day. Fashion jewelry is $5 to $20. Through 5/9. 35 W. 36th St., nr. Fifth Ave., sixth fl. (212-629-6615); Mon.–Fri. (9–7).
Photo: Getty Images
WIFE MAY VETO VITO AMID 'BABY' SHOCK [NYP] [Ed. note: You know they've been waiting YEARS to use that VETO VITO line]
Even Republicans ready to write off Vito Fossella in DWI, lady 'friend' scandal [NYDN]
Earlier: Vito Fossella Adds ‘Mystery Woman’ to His List of Problems
Photo: Scott Suchman
Knoxville is a Fruitcake: Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey will star in John Waters's Christmas movie, Fruitcake. Story centers on a runaway boy named Fruitcake and a runaway girl raised by two gay men. Sounds fun, but we're crossing our fingers that this one never becomes a musical. [HR]
Two for 500: Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star in 500 Days of Summer for Fox Searchlight. Story follows a guy who falls desperately in love with a woman who doesn't believe in love. Sure, she says that now, but wait till she sees him in G.I. Joe. [Variety]
Three Angry Women: Shame on you, Emily's Reasons Why Not, for making us think poor Heather Graham is anything less than a leading lady on roller skates. Now Graham, along with Jennifer Coolidge and Amber Heard, will star in the indie comedy Ex-terminators, the story of three women who meet in anger-management class and a start a "traditional business using very untraditional methods." In other words, they're exterminators who employ terminators. [Variety]
A Ferguson's Tale: Craig Ferguson will write his memoirs for HarperCollins. American on Purpose will follow his journey from Scottish baby to late-night television host, with brief stops as a punk-rocker, a dancer, a bouncer, and a drug addict. We'd give it a read, but we're too busy watching Conan. [Variety]
"There are religious differences," one [source] points out. "Would he expect her to convert to Judaism?"
Lauren's mother, Sharon, is a devout Christian.
NB to David: If you do get invited, don't bring up Grandpa Prescott. So awkward.
2. Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle: A series of one-liners about how much Obama likes you, the reader.
Part of: The "single serving site" meme.
Stance: Whimsically Pro.
See Also: Hillary Is Mom Jeans
3. Barack, Bert and Ernie: Ernie convinces Bert to vote for Obama.
Stance: Pro.
See Also: The Count explains race relations (a promising title poorly executed).
4. Barack OBollywood: A floating Barack head dances to Punjabi music.
Part of: Internet's obsession with modern Indian culture, stretching back to the classic music video "Tunak Tunak."
Stance: WTF
See Also: Some ad implying that Obama smokes dope a lot.
8. Vote Different: Hillary as Big Brother.
Part of: Everything indie is like Apple.
Stance: Pro.
See Also: Hillary's a PC, Obama's a Mac — really.
9. Obama Girl: Oh, you know. Some girl went nuts for Obama and made the new "Dick in a Box."
Stance: Pro and sexy enough for YouTube.
Part of: Barely Political, a web show about being pro-Obama and sexy enough for YouTube.
See Also: McCain Girls: Raining McCain.
10. Under Barack Obama: A MADtv parody of "Umbrella."
Part of: A year of "Umbrella" parodies.
Stance: Pro-interracial-banging.
Actually Don't See Also: Obama and Hillary caught kissing.
11. Yes We Can: will.i.am's spoken-word song based on an Obama speech.
Part of: Songs for Obama; will.i.am's followup was "We Are The Ones."
Stance: Pro and embarrassingly earnest.
Part of: Celebrities love Obama.
See Also: John McCain: john.he.is
12. Muppets for President: What do you expect?
Part of: The Muppets, second only to Star Wars in mashup eminence.
Stance: Silly
See Also: Nothing else. Ever. Except maybe Dramatic Chipmunk and Pretty much everywhere, it's gonna be hot.
The official, identified as Edward Brownbear, also reported seeing the bugs on wooden benches at the Union Square and Fordham Road stations in Manhattan and The Bronx, respectively.
Sharis Lugo, 20, of Brooklyn leaped off a bench at the Union Square station when she heard the news, saying, "Ewww! That's nasty . . . They've got to take these benches out of here!"
Yes! And burn them, maybe along with McKibbin Lofts and all the subway cars! And all clothes within city limits!
Or, you know, just sleep with a flashlight next to your bed. FOREVER.
[Post]
(Image via Wikipedia)
Anti-cop radicals [like] the New York Civil Liberties Union... won't be happy 'till every last cop is off the streets (and maybe behind bars)... If cops stand down, as critics demand, it'll be welcome back crime and chaos.
Blair wrote an account of his police incident for the Post in December.
After he was stopped and angrily asked if he spoke English, and after he threw back "No, no hablo ingles" and the officer briefly took him seriously, Blair was handcuffed and taken to a precinct house. There, he announced his affiliation with the Post, he said in a statement given to Editor & Publisher:
The only reason why I declared to these officers that I was a reporter for the New York Post, that I was a graduate of Columbia University, is because I wanted it to end. I should not have to pull on cards to be respected as an individual.
Saying he was with the Post proved to be sort of get-out-of-jail free card, he hinted in his writeup in the Post:
I unloaded: "I have a master's degree from Columbia University. I am a reporter for the New York Post. What do you mean this is not incarceration?"
The air froze. Officer Castillo kept writing, but I watched his face go flush.
"Now I understand what black people mean in this country when they talk about things like this," I said to Officer Reynolds.
"What do you mean? I am black, too," he said.
"That's what makes it so shameful," I said. "You stood there and watched him cuff me for no reason and you said nothing." He walked away.
At 9:04 p.m., 10 minutes after I was put in the cell, Officer Castillo let me out.
"Mr. Blair," he said. "You are free to go."
The only charges brought against Blair by the police, making unreasonable noise and disobeying a lawful order, were dismissed by a judge.
The Post wears its pro-police bias as a badge of honor, and Blair's suit was, perhaps, an embarrassment. It's easy to imagine its editorial yesterday as something other than an accident, a way to cement the paper's relationship with the NYPD and rebuke its off-the-reservation reporter without breaking any labor laws.
Or it could just be another pro-police Post editorial. Not sure it even really matters.
[E&P, Post editorial, Post story]
(Photo by New York Post)
It involves Murdoch somehow destroying Cablevision's $650 million bid for Newsday, a bid $70 million higher than Murdoch's own bid. You can just tell Murdoch is up to something. Listen to this quote:
Mr. Murdoch spoke on the call with Wall Street analysts and the press after the release of quarterly earnings from the News Corporation, the global media conglomerate he controls. On the call, he said, “no, I don’t think Cablevision will prevail; just be patient for a couple days.”
Just be patient?? For two days? That's awful specific. And it sounds like a villain's line from a b-grade action thriller. Just tell me this, Rupe: Does it involve Australian frogman commandos? Please let it involve Australian frogman commandos.
And write about it in the Post before you raise the price in two weeks.
[Times]
"I really don't know. What I'm on board for right now is the ride home. I don't want to start talking out of my league, because that would have certainly been my inclination in the... KOMO | Extended Visits for Britney Spears New York Times - Britney Spears, below, was awarded extended visits with her sons after a child custody hearing in Los Angeles Superior County Court on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. Britney Spears Keeps Plugging Away Happy Mother's Day, y'all: Britney Spears allowed more time with ... |
 Washington Post | R. Kelly Trial to Start New York Times - After six years of repeated delays, the R&B star R. Kelly is to stand trial on child pornography charges; jury selection will begin on Friday in Chicago, The Associated Press reported. R. Kelly kid-porn trial creeps forward R. Kelly’s Child-Porn Trial Finally Begins |
ESPN's going to try promoting at the speed of sound.
The 24/7 sports network has enlisted Coldplay in its ongoing efforts to promote soccer in the U.S., in particular its live...
REESE'S PIECES: Reese Witherspoon, picking up a pair of jeans, a shirt, a blouse, a belt and a clutch at Martin + Osa in the Century City Mall in Los Angeles.
SINFUL CITY: Minka...
Amy Winehouse is as free as a songbird again.
London's Metropolitan Police confirms that the Grammy winner posted bail and was released from custody after being arrested and...
Home is where the heart is. But it never hurts to have your stuff there, as well. A source close to the couple tells E! News that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have started importing the little...
Photo: Getty Images
Time's Mark Halperin reports that Limbaugh is now telling listeners to vote for Obama because he doesn’t think Barack has a chance anyway. “He will lose,” Limbaugh said on his radio show Wednesday. “He will lose big, and you supers know it … but go ahead. Go ahead and get in the tank for him.”
He then went on to advise Clinton not to drop out of the race. “You’ve come too far to quit,” he said. “Throughout your career, your marriage gave you successes you didn’t deserve. But this one, Mrs. Clinton, you do deserve.”
Thanks, Rush, for finally letting people go do their thing. The nation appreciates your efforts to, you know, undermine the entire American democratic process. You’re a true patriot. —Noelle Hancock
Limbaugh Releases the Superdelegates to Obama [Page/Time]
From left, Anna Wintour's assistant, Claiborne Swanson, with very dry hair; Christina Ricci; and Mary J. Blige.Photo: Patrick McMullan, Getty Images
• Though we saw Mary J. Blige on the red carpet dressed in Michael Kors around eight o'clock, another Cut spy spotted her sipping a martini at the Waverly Inn with friends around ten Monday night, which means she didn't stay for dinner. She did change out of her gown but couldn't bear to shed her gala jewels. Then again, someone had to bling out the Inn when all of its usual residents were still uptown.
• The New York Post reports Christina Ricci didn't stay for dinner either. Though her Givenchy gown was one of the most admired of the night, she left immediately when she learned Anna Wintour didn't seat her with her boyfriend, Kick Gurry. What a waste of gussying up.
Photo: marthastewart.com
See, Martha’s neighbors asked her to cattle-sit their two miniature Hereford cows while they’re away for the summer. This is no problem for Martha, who already has a farm. She just tossed them in the backyard with her miniature donkeys. Yet she still can’t figure out what to name them, and she needs your help, America. Martha is putting the naming to a vote on her site, and she already has several suggestions: Napoleon and Josephine, Maggie and Thatcher, Sir Loin and Madame Bovine, Isabel and Ferdinand, Hillary and Barack, Jen and Ben. There are more choices, but you should go see them for yourself, along with the pictures of the mini-cows, which need to be experienced in person. After the jump, we spend way more time than was necessary debating over IM what Martha Stewart should name her cattle.
COEN: Hey, check it out! Creepy neighbor Martha with her tame midget cows!
COEN: Actually they're like FREAK COWS.
NOELNOEL: Wow. Just wow. I really thought her blog had been hacked at first.
COEN: Maggie and Thatcher? You can't name a duo Maggie AND Thatcher.
COEN: WTF Martha?
NOELNOEL: And naming a cow Sir Loin is just wrong on so many levels.
COEN: Also, Hillary and Barack? She posted that today. Like, today, of all days, that's a choice? Is she going to rig the results?
NOELNOEL: Ha-ha.
COEN: Sir Loin is winning.
NOELNOEL: Good God, what is wrong with this country? —Noelle Hancock
What shall I name my new Hereford cattle? [Martha Blog]
A friendly neighborhood traffic cam may have caught DMX putting his pedal to the metal. The Cradle 2 the Grave star was arrested for reckless driving Tuesday at his Phoenix home after three...
Perhaps R. Kelly is hoping to wait until he isn't famous anymore.
With jury selection scheduled to begin Friday, the Grammy winner's legal camp filed a sealed motion Wednesday...
Photo: Getty Images
Related: Met Gala: The Agony and the Ecstasy of the Red Carpet
Protesters block the Holland Tunnel; media swoons.Photo: Everett Bogue
Photo: Getty Images; Photo illustration the fault of: Dan Kois
That's right! While lesser competitors are satisfied with presenting films in three measly dimensions, the Jonas Brothers' relentless commitment to pure, white-hot quality will not allow them to release such piffle into the marketplace. Teams of Jonas-funded super-scientists are currently hard at work in Jonas HQ in Wyckoff, New Jersey, demolishing the time-space continuum in search of four additional dimensions to insert into the film, which will include footage from their upcoming "Burning Up" concert tour, in addition to behind-the-scenes documentary material of the Brothers' plotting world domination. While the work is grueling — just last week four Nobel Prize–winning physicists were sucked into a wormhole, their screams echoing even louder than the cracking whips of Team Jonas' masked masters of motivation — no one minds, for to please the Brothers today is to assure one's safety in the Jonas-led America of tomorrow.
Jonas Brothers in 3-D Disney feature [HR]
Earlier: Disney Unleashes the Jonas Brothers Upon a Terrified Populace
Know Your Jonas Brothers Overlords
Rockette hopefuls (from left): Alanna Lipsky, Lauren Gibbs, Ashley Everett, Erin Moore, and Macy Reeves. Look, they're all exactly the same height!Photo: Tim Murphy
LAUREN GIBBS, 23, Upper East Side, chorus member in Wicked.
Why do you want to be a Rockette?
I've been a professional flying monkey in Wicked for a few years, and there's a little wear and tear on the body. The Rockettes are only for three months, so you can pull yourself out and explore other options. I want to go to L.A. and do pilot season.
Do you watch Step It Up and Dance?
Unfortunately, I have seen it. It was a little sad to me.
How high can you kick?
To behind my head. I grew up doing rhythmic gymnastics, so I bend.
ASHLEY EVERETT, 19, Hell's Kitchen, freelance dancer.
Why do you want to be a Rockette?
I've seen them perform. It seems very glamorous. I think they need some more diversity. You know, add a little flavor.
How was the racial mix in tryouts?
I think we could count about ten of us mixed or black girls out of about four hundred.
How long at a time can you smile for?
I smile a lot. Even when I'm mad sometimes, I'm smiling. So it shouldn't be too hard.
ERIN MOORE, 26, outside Philly, personal assistant to an arthritic woman.
Can you be a cog in a machine?
I thought it was going to be more militaristic than it actually was. You do have to be precise, but it's not as if you can't show yourself, too.
So how did you show yourself?
I was smiling and lifted in my sternum.
Is that a sassy look?
It's sort of like a poised but friendly look. Sassy, but not in-your-face sassy. Just elegant and smiley.
MACY REEVES, 28, Hell's Kitchen, freelance dancer–restaurant hostess–assistant audio engineer.
Is this your first time auditioning for the Rockettes?
It's my fourth year in a row. The first year I made it to the very end, but I didn't get a job offer. The second year I was cut in the first round. Last year, I made it to the second day.
What was hardest today?
Coordinating your hands, feet, and eyes to not necessarily all be going to the same place. It's like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.
Why should they pick you?
I've been working really hard to stay in shape and have the high kicks the way they want them. I'm not getting old, because dancers don't get old. I have to stay positive. But it's getting to be about that time.
I'm gonna miss my Tuesday mornings with Mario.As you probably know, the R&B crooner was voted off Dancing With the Stars last night along with his dancing partner, Karina Smirnoff....
Hollywood's hottest newlyweds are home.
A week after their under-the-radar Bahamas wedding, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have returned to the States and are primed to resume...
Getty Images, WireImage
2. She & Him, "Change Is Hard" (live)
M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel swing by the Late Late Show for a pretty excellent performance, which is probably your best chance to see them play live since movie stars don't sleep on couches or ride in vans (we're still holding out hope for ScarJo, though). [Culture Bully]
3. Hot Chip, "Wearing My Rolex" (Wiley cover)
Hot Chip get covered in grime when they try on Wiley's "Rolex." It's not as gross as that sounds, though. [Pitchfork]
4. My Brightest Diamond, "Inside a Boy (Son Lux Remix)"
Son Lux adds a little more science fiction to the rhythm section on this track about stars colliding. It must be summer-blockbuster season. [Consequence of Sound]
5. Immuzikation, "L.E.S.D.A.N.C.E."
This Justice-Santogold mash-up might sound fine on a dance floor at 3 a.m., but listening to it at your desk sort of B.L.O.W.S. [It's the Money Shot]
—Ehren Gresehover
Looks like they're in gym class at High School No Name.Photo: Courtesy of ABC
Lindsay Lohan on Ugly Betty — FIRST PICTURES [Just Jared]
Related: Latest Guest Star on ‘Ugly Betty’: Lindsay Lohan
Photo: Getty Images
It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters, in the sunset of her life, is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer, humiliating an innocent family with accounts of her illicit affair and speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book. It speaks to her true character.
Sunset of her life? That is some rough, hard-core bitch slappery right there. We sort of have to admire Star’s gangster moves on this one. She also has a point about humiliating the family of Senator Ed Brooke by recounting details of the affair. Brooke is remarried and has three children now, and no one wants to think about his parents having sex, especially with other people. But Barbara, who claimed yesterday that she’s gone “soft,” decided not to engage in a war of the words. Walters's rep said, "I will not dignify this with a comment. Barbara's written words say it all!" It looks like the defense rests…for now. —Noelle Hancock
Star Jones Slams Barbara Walters for Tell-all Memoir
Barbara Walters Will Not Dignify Star Jones's Comments [UsMagazine.com]
Astoria: At the Queensview Co-op, squirrels are chewing vehicle wires and getting into homes, but wildlife activists say they should be deterred (chimney caps, anyone?), not trapped and killed. [Queens Crap]
Belmont: People thought that Jose, the Bronx River beaver named for Bronx state representative Jose Serrano, was dead. But telltale new tooth marks on a tree here at the zoo suggest otherwise. [NYDN]
Brooklyn Heights: Look at the scaffolding going up for one of those artsy waterfall installations for this summer. We thought it was for a really skinny new waterfront luxury condo! [Gowanus Lounge]
Coney Island: When the park opens on May 22, 4,000 folks will join a "freak-out" to protest the city's scaling back the amusement-park end of Coney's development in favor of condos, hotels, and retail. [NYP]
Dumbo: Jed Walentas, heir to the local real-estate fortune of dad David—whom he calls David, not Dad!—thinks that Dad (uh, David) has better things to do with his "fucking time" than obsess over carpet samples. [NYO via Curbed]
East Village: Newly "luxury"-oriented Stuyvesant Town will lure high-income gays with free crystal meth and unlimited retail space to open antique shops. Or so speculates this bitchy new blog, which really hates the hood. [Stuy Town's Lux Living]
Times Square: A woman waiting for a bus to Oklahoma City gave birth at Port Authority yesterday afternoon. Then everyone celebrated at Hot & Crusty. Okay, we're just kidding about that last part. [WNBC.com]
In the two days since NIN delivered unto us yet another album — this one free to download, and with singing! — we’ve reconnected with Trent Reznor, dirty pop-song writer. The ambient murmurs here are just downtime from the driving keyboard, heavy beats, and of course Reznor’s weirdly sultry vocals — all the awesomeness, in other words. When our man pants “once I start, I can not stop myself,” we can only assume it’s a reference to his new musical binge.
Courtesy of Rockstar and Paramount
A $500 Million Week for Grand Theft Auto [NYT]
Kat Von D.Photo: WireImage
• Researchers have confirmed that people find symmetrical faces sexy because it may indicate disease resistance. Nothing's hotter than a raging immune system [Jezebel]
• Gillette released a $150 Fusion Chrome Collection Power Razor, complete with five blades and a flashlight. It also vibrates. Does this mean everything we thought we knew about men's shaving is wrong? Actually, we're not sure we want to know. [Style Dash]
MAKEUP
• Kat Von D, owner of High Voltage Tattoo, launches her Sephora makeup line on May 12, and you don’t have to have sleeves of tats or severe eyeliner to wear the shades. The lip colors, liners, and shadows are designed to look tame or wild, per your own artistic application. [Temptalia]
• Natalia Vodianova wears the new Aqualumière gloss in her Chanel ads so go copy her already. [Fashion Week Daily/Chic Report]
NAILS
• Creative Nail Design created Spa Marine Masque for feet. Because faces have all the fun. [Mischo Beauty]
Photo: Getty Images
It’s easy to see why Clinton was tempted to hop aboard the Pander Express, once John McCain floated the idea of suspending the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon for the summer. Giving some badly needed relief to truckers, farmers, and vacationers fit right in with the hash-slinger-in-a–Wal Mart–pantsuit image Hillary honed in Ohio, perfected in Pennsylvania, and was deploying all over Indiana. And when Obama derided the idea by saying it would only save consumers “pennies,” he seemed to be handing the Clintons one more opportunity to portray him as an out-of-touch elitist.
But as things turned out, when Hillary called for suspending the gas tax, she threw Obama the kind of rope he desperately had been seeking to pull himself out of the Wright train wreck. Wright screwed Obama as hard as any noncandidate has ever screwed an American presidential contender. And even after counterattacking and distancing himself from his former pastor, Obama was noticeably off his game. But the gas tax became a rare instance where Clinton and Obama directly and diametrically opposed each other on a policy issue, automatically generating headlines and coverage that helped push Wright out of the local news in Indiana.
Further, the gas tax turned the national media against Hillary over the weekend, because the Clinton campaign hadn’t bothered to line up (or just couldn’t find) a single expert to support suspending the tax. That left Clinton herself and surrogates like Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) insulting economists on national television, which looked ridiculous. It also left the media free to report the story without trying to be evenhanded and essentially to tell viewers that suspending the tax is a stupid idea.
Most importantly, the new debate let Obama rediscover his voice. He not only opposed the “holiday” on principle. In a way he hasn’t done on issues such as wearing a lapel flag pin, he also stated his objections loudly, pithily, and in keeping with the themes of his campaign. Liberal bloggers kept writing that Obama needed to argue that suspending the tax wouldn’t save drivers any money. Instead, he hammered away at it as a “gimmick” and a symptom of the Washington politics he says he wants to change.
Opposing Clinton on a matter of substance got Obama off the defensive in the final days of the campaign and let him draw a new and sharp contrast without seeming negative. Opposing Clinton on this particular matter of substance finally gave Obama a chance to connect his “broken politics” theme to the concrete issue of energy independence, where he is on much firmer ground against the Clintons than on other economic issues, while simultaneously questioning Hillary’s honesty.
And he took full advantage. Six days ago, Obama introduced the single most brilliant ad of the Indiana campaign, called “Truth.” And, palpably relieved at the partial change of subject, he incorporated a detailed denunciation of the gas-tax suspension into his stump speech, in which he hit full stride again on Monday night.
And in response, Hillary doubled down, cranking out ads that said, “Barack Obama wants you to keep paying that tax.” Her campaign must have thought the issue was a winner. But it’s also true that her campaign just hasn’t been able to overcome its instinct for overkill. And voters noticed.
On election night, the economy was the number-one issue for many of Indiana's voters, as it had been in most recent states. But whereas Hillary had carried those voters 55 percent to 43 percent in Ohio and 59 percent to 41 percent in Pennsylvania, she won them by just 51 percent to 49 percent in Indiana, according to CNN exit polling. Among voters who said the recession had affected them “a great deal” or “somewhat,” she won by the same small margin. Late-breaking voters had gone overwhelmingly to Clinton in recent states, but Indiana voters who decided in the past week favored Hillary by just 55 percent to 45 percent. Fewer than half of voters said Wright was an important issue. And 44 percent — of Democratic primary voters in a state Clinton won! — said Hillary is not “honest and trustworthy.”
None of these numbers were enough for Obama to actually win Indiana. But he didn’t have to win. He only needed to net enough popular votes and delegates to close off Hillary’s remaining avenues to the nomination. A week ago, he was bleeding, and probably couldn’t have closed that deal. But the gas tax turned the primary into a referendum on Clinton’s character for just enough voters that Obama was able to exceed expectations for the first time since February.
Tragedy or poetic justice, Clinton went one pander too far in Indiana. —Peter Keating
Related: Heilemann: Clinton Over — and Out?
What Every Last Pundit Is Saying About Clinton
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.
Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The emotions that fuel feuds are still boiling away under the surface. Enemies have gone underground. Which is frankly a much scarier state of affairs. One of the features of classic enemies was that, out of a sense of a kind of mutual fairness, they always had the good manners to broadcast the feud, so that witnesses—colleagues, peers, friends—were always the final arbiters. Publicly known enemies battled with the assurance that the blood was always, ultimately, fake.You know what we say to that? Go to hell, Doree Shafrir. You and your article and your goddamn pink newspaper are full of crap.
Doree Shafrir, we're calling you out. Your article may be well written and interesting and all that, but we here at Vulture eat features like that for breakfast. That's right, we said it: We eat your articles and then poop them out as blog posts by mid-afternoon. You wanna do something about it, Doree Shafrir … if that is your real name?
You claim the feud is dead? Tell that to Ben Silverman and Steve McPherson! Tell that to Santiago Calatrava and the city of Bilbao, Spain! Tell that to Megadeth and the United Nations! Tell that to Maxim magazine and common decency! All that rich, nourishing, well-marbled cultural beef sure tastes good to us, Doree Shafrir! But no, you just have to follow your article's "thesis," providing "supporting details" in the form of "quotes" and "examples" like some kind of stupid journalist, don't you?
We look forward to your response.
Trash Me, Baby! [Some fucking newspaper]
Practicing his Richard Johnson face.Photo: Patrick McMullan
Young Spencer, 30, started in the gossip world by stringing on and off for the Daily News's "Rush & Molloy" column in 2004. Shortly after, he became a stringer for the Observer's "Transom" column. It took only a few months of this for his editors to see what they had on their hands, and they hired him permanently. What, specifically, they had on their hands spilling out of their paws, was a fun, boozy party reporter who knew everyone, stayed out late, and could always be relied upon for a little action (in print or just verbally). He, like Chris Wilson of "Page Six," George Gurley of the Observer, Neel Shah of Radar, and Hud Morgan of the Daily News (not all friends, mind you), took the term "party coverage" at face value.
This continued until last year, when things between Morgan and his fiancée, Vanity Fair's Alexis Bryan, started heating up. It is no doubt through the influence of Bryan (who may have learned a thing or two about managing men from her father's girlfriend, Anna Wintour) that Spencer has undergone a glorious transformation. He can no longer be seen after-party hopping until the wee hours. Instead, he turns in early. He's begun wearing striking new glasses, of the studious type Marc Jacobs wore pre-rehab. He's even grown a somewhat stately mustache. When asked about his personal transformation, he told us it's just "less booze. Lots more baths."
Man, you quit your twenties for two months and look what happens.
But more important, he's taken over full control of the "Transom" page and now punches out giant features for the Observer in nearly every issue (who could forget when he wore spanks? Or invaded a model's apartment?). He has a baby on the way and is going to get married next Sunday in Houston. "We're eloping!" he told Daily Intel recently. And, somehow, it seems like the most responsible thing in the world.
Why do we tell you this? Well, because, unlike the Observer, we can't run trumped-up trend stories based on a couple of things that our friends have been doing. But if we could, we would use the self-gentrification of Spencer Morgan as a sign of the times. Are all the young media party people our age calming down? Is this really how we brace for our thirties? We actually become adults? We become responsible, and we naturally turn away from the booze and the late nights and the inability to keep a relationship?
If that's the case, Carrie Bradshaw has a lot of explaining to do. We thought for sure we could stretch this out at least until our forties.
Thank You for Soaking [NYO]
Didn't anyone tell this kid not to play with
Mommy's $595 shoes?Photo: Courtesy of Roger Vivier
Well, isn't that precious. Let us guess, she always sleeps through the night and eats her baby foie gras toast with her napkin folded in her lap.
Fashion Scoops: Mother Knows Best [WWD]
Daniel Zeller’s Marginal Theory (2008)Courtesy of Pierogi Brooklyn
Today on the Comics Page, we're proud to present an excerpt from At a Crossroads: Between a Rock and My Parents' Place, a gently funny graphic memoir by Kate T. Williamson. At a Crossroads is out this month from Princeton Architectural Press.
At a Crossroads, by Kate T. Williamson
What we would have given to be that young man yesterday.Photo: Rex USA, Courtesy of Christopher Sauvé
But then a friend of the Cut sent in a shot of a garbage receptacle on 14th Street and Ninth Avenue carefully spray-painted with the Chanel logo. So maybe Karl was just envisioning a better-looking container for our city's waste and couldn't resist making his vision a reality on those bins. Oh Karl, always thinking of the Trendy Wendys in the meatpacking district.
KARL'S MORNING AFTER [British Vogue]
Photo-llustration: Columbia Pictures (McLovin), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar)
Breakthrough Performance [MTV]
Earlier: Oscar Buzz for McLovin Reaches Fever Pitch
Is Matchbox Twenty Contributing to the Delinquency of McLovin?
Photo illustration: Shanna Ravindra, Courtesy of Target
So why is Barneys doing it? First, the store's fashion director, Julie Gilhart, wanted more ecofriendly products, like Rogan's Target line, in the store and was reportedly instrumental in getting Rogan's Target line off the ground. Considering she's so passionate about it, why shouldn't she have the line she helped create in her stomping grounds just because it's inexpensive? Second, many blog posts like this one will be written about this weekend's event. (Not to mention we just read a six-page article about it in WWD.) You know what that is, retail experts? It's called buzz, and it's ringing off the chain for Barneys right now.
So try not to worry so much about this stuff next time. It's bad for the skin.
Barneys Loves Target: Retailing's Odd Couple Takes Marketing Leap [WWD]
Photo: Getty Images
"In the show, [Speed] talks really, really, really fast, and he says the same thing over and over. He'll be like, 'I wanna go on a race, because then I can win!' And then he'll say, 'When I win, I'll have won the race!' We couldn't do that for the movie." —Emile Hirsch on the obstacles of translating the Speed Racer cartoon to film [MTV]
"Jerri always looked presentable and she definitely had style. More so than Carrie Bradshaw ever had, and I think that, you know, I like that Jerri thought of herself like that." —Amy Sedaris on her Strangers With Candy character, Jerri Blank [A.V. Club]
"If they offer me another 10 years, I'd take it. Can you imagine! We could have Vince sitting at home while his sons run around getting into trouble. It'd be a spin-off — like Muppet Babies!" — Adrian Grenier on Entourage [WENN via Starpulse]
"Like most rock 'n' roll bands that split up, there were terrible arguments in Pink Floyd about who did what and when. And it's a huge comfort now to know that nobody's memory is reliable. It certainly explains a lot." —Roger Waters [DMN via PopMatters]
Pete Doherty posts new Babyshambles song online [NME]
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