"A 24-year-old Fox News Channel production assistant was fired this morning for something she said during the red carpet arrivals at the Time 100 Gala last night.

"Insiders tell us the assistant, identified as Jennifer Locke, was on assignment with a camera crew to cover the entertainment angle of the event. When Sen. John McCain walked by, the assistant said, 'I voted for you in the primary, you're going to win.'

"McCain was overheard saying to her, 'You're not supposed to reveal that.' Locke apparently continued to explain that she is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran.

"Insiders who were at the event were surprised and shocked to hear the disclosure, which was recorded on videotape. A Fox News insider called it 'journalistically unacceptable.' An FNC spokesperson would not comment on the personnel matter but did confirm Locke is no longer with the company, where she'd worked for a couple of years. [MediaBistro]

"This is the Indiana movie that you were dreading [...] There was not a single moment that I thought [Indy] . . . was in any sort of peril or even significant inconvenience.' A big snake that appears in one scene is 'as crappy as a Mad TV prop' and it 'looks like the whole jungle was made of plastic.' As far as Ford's dialogue goes, 'he has a few lines that work and a million that don't.'" [P6]

I'm not too worried. I haven't believed anything on that site since they gushed all over Daredevil.

"Before jury selection began Friday, [Circuit Judge Vincent] Gaughan denied a defense motion to again postpone the trial because of intense publicity surrounding the case, appearing to accept arguments from the prosecution that jury selection could weed out any tainted jurors.

"But defense attorney Marc Martin said the jury pool had been 'irrevocably poisoned' by a front-page story in Friday's Chicago Sun-Times that cited unnamed sources talking about a potential witness.

"Many of the potential jurors would have read the article on the way to the courthouse, Martin said. 'There is no escaping the fact that the Sun-Times will be in every news box in Cook County,' said Martin, adding that the contents of the story were also broadcast on TV and radio stations. 'I heard it when I was putting on my tie this morning.'

"'Somebody out there is trying to sabotage Mr. Kelly's right to a fair trial,' Martin said. As he arrived at the courthouse Friday morning, Kelly didn't acknowledge the crowd outside as he walked through a special entrance. One raucous onlooker shouted 'I love you'; another shouted 'R. Kelly's a pedophile.'" [AP]

Week in Review: Where's the Beef? Everywhere!

Trent Reznor continued to do battle with the business-as-usual record labels (who charge money — ha! — for their albums), and random superheroes fought over who would get to be in the Avengers movie. Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott disagreed about whether Jason Segel is a little boy or a really ugly woman, and Gina Gershon made life difficult for the New York Times' fact-checking department. Iron Man's $100 million weekend looked pretty good — until Grand Theft Auto's $500 million first week smacked it upside the face.

Superconductor Richard Muti told New York Philharmonic where to stick it, and Harrison Ford battled George Lucas for a decade over what would be the appropriate amount of aliens to put in the new Indiana Jones. David Cook and Jason Castro squared off against American Idol viewers' eardrums with their terrible singing, but, luckily, TomCruise.com was able to reignite our broken enthusiasm for music. The Jonas Brothers tore a hole in space and time, and the makers of the G.I. Joe movie put our cinematic standards on notice, announcing that all acting in the film will be done by butts. Ralph Bakshi said nasty things about Thomas Kinkade and Bob Seger, and we said nasty things about the new Weezer album. Cripes, Doree Shafrir, do you have rocks in your head?

Tony Predictions: Song-and-Dance Division

Best Musical
Locks: In the Heights; Passing Strange
Probably in: Cry-Baby; Xanadu
Possible surprise: A Catered Affair

Are we crazy to think that Tony nominators are a lot more likely to embrace the cheese — and touring potential — of Cry-Baby rather than the dour drama of A Catered Affair, despite its pedigree? Or would we be crazier to suggest that the Tonys would ignore all three of the three kings of current Broadway musical theater: Walt Disney (The Little Mermaid), Mel Brooks (Young Frankenstein), and Harvey Fierstein?

Best Musical Revival
Locks: Gypsy; South Pacific; Sunday in the Park With George
Probably in: A ham
Possible surprise: Grease

Unlike last year, when this category featured five eligible shows — allowing relieved nominators to exclude the miserable Les Misérables — only four musical revivals bowed in the 2007–2008 season. We still think the committee will trim the category to three rather than nominate Grease — or they might nominate our choice, a large, honey-roasted ham.

Best Actor
Locks: Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights; Paolo Szot, South Pacific; Stew, Passing Strange
Probably in: Boyd Gaines, Gypsy; Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair
Possible surprises: Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park With George; Cheyenne Jackson, Xanadu

Two beloved theater vets seem likely to round out the top five, but they're challenged by two young upstarts in two very different roles: Evans in the gorgeous but not quite beloved Sunday, and Jackson in the beloved but not good exactly Xanadu. We'll give the edge to the vets — because the three locks are all Broadway virgins.

Best Actress
Locks: Patti LuPone, Gypsy; Kelli O'Hara, South Pacific
It doesn't really matter because either Patti or Kelli will win and maybe both if the Tonys are smart about it: Kerry Butler, Xanadu; Jenna Craig, Sunday in the Park With George; Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Possible surprise: Mandy Gonzalez, In the Heights

Louis Vuitton Tried to Prevent the Nadia Plesner Lawsuit

She said the fashion house initially did not ask for damages when it noticed the colors and design of the bag in Plesner's painting appeared to be an exact copy of the Audra bag pictured above. They sent Plesner a letter asking her to respect the rights of other artists like Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs and artist Takashi Murakami, who designed the bag. Plesner didn't respond to the letter but continued her campaign and posted the letter on her Website. The spokeswoman also noted when Plesner started the campaign, she was donating 30 percent of the profits from the sale of T-shirts and posters with the image (now her Website says she's donating 100 percent of the profits).

Since Plesner didn't respond to Louis Vuitton, the house went to court in Paris to file an injunction. On March 25 the court declared the image was a clear infringement of Louis Vuitton's copyright on the bag and ordered Plesner to cease and desist. When Plesner ignored this injunction, Louis Vuitton took further action and asked for 5,000 euros for each day she continued to sell the product (just under $7,700; some erroneous reports say $20,000 a day). "If companies don’t take action to protect trademarks, it’s harder to do so in the future," the spokeswoman said. "I just think the way she’s portraying this she’s not telling what Louis Vuitton did to prevent the lawsuit."

She added Louis Vuitton is not trying to stop Plesner's campaign and hopes to find a solution to allow it to continue without infringing on Louis Vuitton's intellectual-property rights.

Every Move You Make

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum wondered why only 4 percent of third-graders were suiting up for gym class. Commuters were stuck when an N train jumped the rails at 57th and Seventh. Miss Brooklyn, the Frank Gehry–designed would-be queen of Bruce Ratner’s ailing Atlantic Yards project, will now be replaced with a shorter and less statuesque “B1.” Madonna groupies lost their heads when Hard Candy hit No. 1. Jack Jordan, the loner who’d sent Uma Thurman pictures of decapitated women, was convicted of stalking and aggravated harassment. (He’d insisted he was just flirting.) Monet’s Le Pont du Chemin de Fer a Argenteuil sold for a record $41 million at Christie’s Impressionists sale, though the rest of the auction was a bust.

The Rockettes held tryouts at Radio City. A Columbia student said Lindsay Lohan boosted her mink from downtown club 1Oak, and paparazzi-photo evidence seemed to support her claim. The Rangers were bounced from the NHL playoffs. And Gisele Bündchen momentarily considered donning Wonder Woman’s bulletproof bracelets at the Met’s superhero-themed Costume Institute Gala — where Scarlett Johansson, newly engaged to Ryan Reynolds, showed off a rock that evening honoree Superman might have struggled to budge. —Mark Adams

Ashton Kutcher: Cougar Lover, in Real Life and Onscreen

Pre-Demi, Kutcher starred opposite women like Brittany Murphy (30), Tara Reid (32), and Zoe Saldana (29) — all more or less his same age. But as though taking its cue from his real love life, Kutcher has recently started taking roles alongside women up to twenty years his senior.

In What Happens in Vegas..., Kutcher plays your typical Apatovian guy (except not funny or believably dirty), while Cameron Diaz (35, though lit to look 85) plays a career woman itching to start a family. Later this year, Kutcher will star opposite Michelle Pfieffer (50) in Personal Effects, in which a “young man” meets “a beautiful older woman” and an “unlikely and beautiful romance blooms,” according to the film’s Website. And next year, Kutcher and Jennifer Jason Leigh (46) will star in Spread, a sex comedy about a womanizer (Kutcher) and his ex (Leigh).

What accounts for these pairings, so unlikely in a Hollywood where the opposite is so often ickily the case? (Just ask 65-year-old Harrison Ford, whose past five onscreen romantic partners have been 19, 13, 16, 18, and 27 years younger than him.) Is Kutcher, an active, producing force in Hollywood, exerting influence on the casting in these films or choosing projects specifically to endorse his own cougar-loving lifestyle? Is the cougar phenomenon supposed to empower women who can still land hard-bodied young things, even as theirs become increasingly difficult to maintain? Or is it that the only way America’s youth-obsessed audience can tolerate watching an older actress is to cast her opposite a male ingénue?

It's worth noting that the older actresses Kutcher's starring with now are almost uniformly better than the younger ones he was paired with in the pre-Demi era. And so despite how lousy What Happens in Vegas... is, we salute Ashton Kutcher — even if he doesn't have much taste in material, he does have excellent taste in co-stars. —Kari Milchman

DMX Busted at Home for Pot, Pit Bulls

Sarah Jessica Parker Changes Outfits 81 Times in ‘Sex’ Movie

• Images of Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen's high-end line, the Row, are out. We can't say they make us want to start saving for them. [Nylon]

• Marc Jacobs didn't like showing on Friday this past Fashion Week so he's going back to his old Monday-night slot. Ooooh, is it already time to start anticipating Fashion Week?! [Fashionista]

• Earnest Sewn founder Scott Morrison tells us what he eats in a week. He drives through McDonald's (which he calls the greatest restaurant of all time) and barbecues chipotle burgers at his 178-acre home upstate. Yes, he cooks. [Grub Street]

• Remember what Gwyneth Paltrow used to wear before the mile-high hemlines and high heels? Well, here are a bunch of photos to jog that memory, from her old Brad Pitt days to the pink Oscar dress she cried all over to the crotch-skimming dresses of late. [TeamSugar]

Robert Downey Jr. has been having a hell of a week. Iron Man opened last Friday, and the 43-year-old unlikely action star's well-earned "victory lap" ended last night with a visit to the Time 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he was more than happy to gloat to the crowd. "I'm actually the only convicted felon in history — I’m not exactly sure, ask around, do a background check — who has rung the bell of the New York Stock Exchange within the last two weeks." But the real reason he’d come that night, he told us later, was to honor his father, Robert Downey Sr. “When will I ever have the format to tell my dad that I’m grateful and he’s a hell of a guy and I’m living proof? It’s American-dream stuff for me, is the truth.” And though we’d already heard six speakers that night, including John McCain, Downey Jr.’s speech was the only one that truly moved us. So we transcribed the entire thing.

“I remember seeing Greenwich Village from seven feet up in the air growing up as a kid, because he’d have me on his shoulders and we’d be tripping around. And at a time before underground and independent film became a hot idea, then a dirty word, then a hot idea again as it is nowadays, my dad was making films that influenced a generation of filmmakers — films like Putney Swope. Here’s just one of the lines from it. [Sings] ‘I have a malignancy in my prostate / but when you’re in my arms, it’s benign.’ “Growing up in Downey Sr.’s house, the commodity was wit, the commodity was political commentary, the commodity was innovation, and that’s what I grew up feeling very inspired by. And I wound up getting recruited … I had the dubious honor — hey Lorne — of being on probably the worst season of Saturday Night Live. And I still had a great time and it was a great experience. Thanks for not kicking me off the show — I was up to some pretty nefarious acts in the dressing room. Unless I need mention the obvious, it was a period of time when being a Gen X guy … if I’m influencing anything, it’s about survival, surviving a time of that post-sixties, we-don’t-know-who-we-are-or-what-to-do. It was a time when being self-destructive seemed in. And we weren’t quite sure what we were rebelling against, but we took a pretty heavy fall and we lost a lot of people. So I remember when I was at my very lowest, my dad, who had put down all that dumb stuff twenty years before, said, ‘Hey kid, stick around. It’s not so bad. Just stay on the planet.’”

Jr. turned to his dad, but his voice cracked and he couldn’t quite get out his sentence. “And so tonight … [long pause] I just want to honor my dad for being every inch the man I remember him to be and thank him.”

The applause swelled. Not an eye in the house was dry. Then Jr. turned the mike over to Sr., who stared at him blankly and deadpanned: “I’m not your father.”

Downey Jr. stood there, mouth agape, for a moment, before crumpling over in laugher and hugging his dad. “You son of a bitch! You just let me get all fucking emotional?”

Later, as the crowd filtered away, we spotted Downey Sr. talking to Lorne Michaels.

Sr.: He’s the same character now, except he’s sober. I’m so happy for him. Because he was a dead man. Just shows you can never give up on anyone.
Michaels: He’s still around. That’s all that matters.
Sr.: I just wish Hillary Clinton was.

And with that, the son swept in with a big hug and vowed to take his father out on the town: “Come on, Dad. Let’s blow this Popsicle stand.” —Jada Yuan

See Chris Rock, Mariah Carey, John McCain, and others at our complete coverage of the Time 100 party.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 9 May 2008 | 10:20 pm

Martha Stewart's White-Faced Heifers Will Not Be Named After White-Faced Celebrities

Stewart at the Time 100 gala last night.Photo: Getty Images

If you head over to Martha Stewart's blog today, you can see the results of her very exciting Internet poll over what she should name her two new cows. Noelle and Jessica Coen yesterday thought that the cows were ugly little buggers, but Intel editor Chris thinks they're actually kind of cute. When we ran into Martha at the Time 100 last night, naturally we asked her about her two new friends. Was she rooting for any two names in particular? "I don’t get to have a favorite, but the public favorite is Ben and Jen, after Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, because she named her dog after me," Martha said. "I think they would be very pleased to have a pair of rare, miniature white-faced heifers named after them." (For the record, Ben and Jen do indeed have a golden retriever named Martha Stewart, which is really stellar.) Unfortunately for Ben and Jen (and also for the cows, really), their names were not chosen in the end. Winning the naming competition by 2 percent were "Sir Loin and Madam Bovine." We're not going to guess at which celebrities are associated with those nicknames. —Jada Yuan

See Chris Rock, Mariah Carey, Robert Downey Jr., and others at our complete coverage of the Time 100 party.

What Shall I Name My New Hereford Cattle? [Martha Stewart]
Earlier: Martha Stewart Wants You to Name Her Cows

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 10:20 pm

J.Lo's New Cologne; Heidi and Spencer's Shared Hair Routine

Photo: Getty Images

FRAGRANCE
• This fall, Jennifer Lopez will launch her first men’s fragrance called Deseo (the Spanish word for desire) for Men. It's supposed to make one desire another. Hm, maybe she needed something to counteract Marc Anthony's greasy hair. Oh, we kid, we kid. [WWD]

• Cartier will also launch a men’s fragrance called Roadster, named after its watch line. It has a strong scent of mint, and it’s targeted to older men. Weird. [Cosmetic News]

HAIR
• Apparently Speidi, the Hills TV ~~creature~~ duo we can’t get enough of, use the same hair colorist at Piero in Santa Monica. Spencer Pratt is so metro. [E! via Jezebel]

• The new three-level Warren-Tricomi salon set to open at the 57th Street Plaza Hotel will feature the first Shu Uemura Art of Hair Institute and a Sally Hansen Nail Clinic. It's a triple threat, people! [WWD]

• The first Monday of each month this summer, the Soho Equinox gym brings in hairstylist Mario Diab from his Soho salon to talk about how to transform hair from gym to chic. Oh, goody, we are so over showering. [WWD]

SKIN
• Model Daria Werbowy uses lemon juice as toner and cleanser. It's a tip passed along from Grandma. Note to self: Buy lemons this weekend. [Beauty and the Blog]

MAKEUP
• The new Shine lip gloss is thick, sticky, and goopy. It achieves megashine, as gloss should, but the goopy is not an adjective we like with our lip gloss. There’s nothing worse than hair blowing in the wind and sticking to your kisser. [BellaSugar]

• The new Giorgio Armani Bronze Mania collection for summer is as bronze as its name implies. The line includes new skin tints, a Mediterranean palette, sheer formula (for glowing skin), black mascara, lipstick, and lip gloss, all so you can bronze without even stepping into the sun. [Makeup Divas]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 10:05 pm

Who Wore It Better: Chris Matthews or Uma Thurman?

Photos, clockwise from top left: Getty Images, INFPhoto, MSNBC, Getty Images

The "It" in the headline, of course, is the auburn-highlighted hair color that both Uma Thurman and Chris Matthews adopted this week. Uma's was for her new movie, Motherhood, but we're not quite sure why Matthew's made the change from his normal frosty-blond locks. The MSNBC host's light, flippy hair has sort of become his trademark over the years (that and a voice that hits your eardrum like a Q-tip that went a quarter-inch too far), so why the change now? Is he worried that he's looking too much like Hillary Clinton these days? Anyway, what do you think? Who wore it better?

We say Chris. Ever since Uma went redhead for Batman & Robin, we've never been able to take her seriously. Sorry, her hair seriously.

Chris Matthews Debuts New Hairdo [HuffPo]

1. Usher, "Trading Places"
In this leaked track from Ush's upcoming Here I Stand, he switches roles with his girlfriend, asking her to take him on a date and "order Chinese food right before you do me." [Boss Blue Music]

2. Lindsay Lohan, "Bossy"
On Lohan's new track she claims, "If I want it, then I get it — now." Mink-wearing club kids can probably back her up on this one. [Beeb Blog]

3. Rolling Stones, "I'm Free (DJ Shadow Chase Bank Remix)"
First came the Nokia promotion, and now we find that Shadow took a crack at remixing the Stones for Chase, but they ended up using another version in the commercial. Does it count as selling out if they pay you for doing nothing? [Party Ends]

4. Middle Distance Runner, "Momma"
Whoever handles Hallmark's TV-advertising account will get really excited when they find out that MDR has created a Mother's Day song, until they find out that while awesome, it's more hilarious tantrum than sweet sincerity. [Pasta Primavera]

5. Everybody Was in the French Resistance … Now, "Hey It's Jimmy Mac"
Art Brut's Eddie Argos paints Martha (and, presumably, her Vandellas) as melodramatic in this response to their classic "Jimmy Mac." "If that's your attitude," he says. "I'm never coming back." [Pitchfork]
—Ehren Gresehover

Despite being an early champion of the project, the Other Boleyn Girl star has had to drop out of an...

This is a little embarrassing. Please bear with me if you:

a) are a former lover
b) haven't heard from me in years
or c) hate my guts

My conference director asked me to "invite friends" to get a special
discount on the Mediabistro Circus we're doing May 20-21 — and I realized
that my list is over 2,000 people long, so I just invited everyone in my
Outlook Contact sheet. And you were in there!!

In any case, the conference is going to be AWEsome. It's our first
conference and I'm excited about it because it's shaping up to be exactly
what I wanted it to be: two days of inspired programming designed to bring
very senior-level media people up to speed on what's happening in digital
media.

[Pitch here for "Circus" REDACTED]

So far, we're expecting about 300 very senior-level people (CEOs, SVPs,
EICs, Creative Directors, etc) and I'd really love to have you there, too.
That is, if you are still my friend after this :) Let me know if you're
interested and I'll get you some sort of friends 'n' family discount.

Questions? Email me back. Complaints.... er, email me back those, too.

Love,

Laurel

[Confidential to Laurel: May be wise to remove Nick Denton from Outlook contact sheet.]

Perhaps the critics raving about Grand Theft Auto IV have been too modest in their comparisons of the video game to cultural milestones like The Godfather and The Sopranos — have they forgotten Grünewald's The Isenheim Altarpiece and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon? "I think Grand Theft Auto, the whole series, is the most important artwork of our time," artist Tom Sachs said at the opening of his Hello Kitty–festooned exhibition at the Lever House last night. "It's completely underrated as art in every possible way, from the music to the violence to the automobile culture and architecture and virtual reality. The game play is excellent, and the iconography is really what makes it count and what makes it meaningful. I don't understand why that's not in the Museum of Modern Art."

Sachs, who talked to the makers of GTA for the upcoming issue of Interview magazine, says he hasn't yet played GTA IV because he's been too busy setting up the exhibition and his other show at Sperone Westwater. "I can't play it that well, it takes me a lot of time," he said. "I'll probably hook it up tomorrow or the next day." —Andrew Goldstein

Earlier: Why Critics Want Grand Theft Auto IV to Be the ‘Godfather’ of Video Games

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 9 May 2008 | 9:05 pm

Lindsay's Big-Screen Comeback Off Track

Good thing she has that Ugly Betty gig to fall back on, because Lindsay Lohan's movie prospects are rapidly going the way of the dodo. After being touted as starring in two upcoming...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 9 May 2008 | 9:05 pm

DMX held on animal cruelty, drug charges

Rapper DMX was arrested Friday on drug and animal cruelty charges after attempting to barricade himself inside his Arizona home, sheriff's deputies said.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 9 May 2008 | 9:00 pm

Casting Agent James Scully's All-Time Favorite Models

Top row, from left, Liya Kebede, Lily Donaldson, Anja Rubik
Middle row, from left, Christy Turlington, Jessica Stam, Coco Rocha, Lara Stone
Bottom row, from left, Freja Beha, Raquel Zimmerman, Isabeli Fontana, Caroline TrentiniPhoto: Patrick McMullan (Fontana, Kebede); Getty (Donaldson, Trentini, Turlington); Imaxtree

James Scully has many a man’s dream job: He determines which long-legged beauties score a spot on top runways. His first major casting was for Todd Oldham in 1993. Since then, he's also helped cast Gucci and YSL shows during Tom Ford era. And from 1999 to 2001, Scully was the bookings editor at Harper’s Bazaar, picking which models, hairstylists, and makeup artists get hired for shoots. After a recent two-year hiatus, Scully is back with his own runway-show production company. We followed him during fall castings for Look, and somehow managed to make him list his all-time favorite girls. Considering how many resort castings he’s set to work on (Carolina Herrera, Stella McCartney, Derek Lam, Zac Posen, and Jason Wu), you can probably bank on many of these faces popping up in New York soon.

Liya Kebede: An all-time eternal favorite for me — she's an exotic Grace Kelly. Models work for years to develop the poise, grace, and style that she came to the business already equipped with! It still shocks me that I sometimes have to sell her to a client, but every time she walks in the room, she always proves me right.

Anja Rubick: The total package: perfect skin, amazing walk and the only model I can think of that never requires alterations at fittings. And she speaks with a slight lisp, which makes me melt. Most models would have ruined their careers by cutting off their hair, but it seems to have catapulted her to superstar ranks this year.

Lara Stone: In my entire career I can count on one hand the models whose presence and beauty are so otherworldly that they can silence a room and stop traffic. That intense gaze and luscious body! I'm sure she is not even aware of how powerful and arresting her beauty is, and it's no surprise that Paris Vogue is a love letter to her every month. She can't walk a lick, but that never hurt Stephanie [Seymour] either.

Coco Rocha: I will be the first to admit I did not believe the hype, but within five seconds of meeting her, I was totally charmed and understood why everyone loves her. Some people feel her look is specific, but I find her to be the most chameleon-like of all the girls.

Raquel Zimmermann: The energizer model! I think she's the only model of the last ten years who never goes out of fashion. It's as though she never ages yet gets better-looking each season. Probably the most versatile model of all, she truly could be in any show. Her professionalism rivals any model and her timeliness is equal to Cindy Crawford's, whose punctuality was legendary.

Freja Beha: The queen of cool. Probably one of the most-requested models of all my clients. She is the perfect old-school clothes-hanger with a little eighties androgyny thrown in.

Isabeli Fontana: There is something almost saintly about her — if you told me she could heal sick children, I would be a believer! Yet on the other side of the coin she has a body better than all the Victoria's Secret girls combined. And one of the kindest models I've ever worked with. Glides down a runway like a panther. And the most beautiful blue eyes in the biz.

Jessica Stam: The Starbucks Kid! I think she was born with a cup of coffee in her hand. Sweet and sexy, you always know what you'll get with Jessica — a perfect, fit body and a walk that could sell a wet paper bag. If there is ever a questionable outfit in a show, give it to her and you are guaranteed a runway photo.

Lily Donaldson: One of the most-expensive-looking girls, yet a frail beauty at the same time. Beautiful skin, baby eyes, and pouty lips. A real English rose, but there's a sexpot underneath all of that waiting to be unleashed. She's also more guarded than the other girls, which throws people off, but it makes me super-gushy and nervous like a schoolboy. I could totally see her married to a rock star!

Caroline Trentini: Perfect body. Always full of energy, always happy, and I have not met a better walker since Carmen Kass. She can model anything.

Favorite Supermodel: Christy Turlington The greatest model of all time! You could combine every model to this day into one person, and they wouldn't come close (sorry, girls). Probably the biggest crush I've ever had on a girl. It would be a dream to have the opportunity of working with her on a show again before I retire, but that seems about as likely as winning the lottery. —Kendall Herbst

Toni Braxton's Vegas Return Postponed

Toni Braxton is still on the mend. The R&B diva won't be returning to her long-running show at the Flamingo Las Vegas for at least another month, after what was initially...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 9 May 2008 | 9:00 pm

In L.A.-Set Comic, Sweet Vampire Stuck in Dead-End Job

We first introduced you to Rosa, a goth chick in L.A. who dreams about the romantic, ruffle-shirt-clad vampire lifestyle, in Vulture's exclusive excerpt last month. She hasn't a clue that Dave Marshall — the sweet, nondescript convenience-store clerk — is actually a vampire whose un-life is not so glamorous. Rent must be paid, the annoying boss must be tolerated, and cute girls like Rosa seem to always go after rich jerks rather than him. Will Dave's dead-end job go on for eternity?

Life Sucks

By Jessica Abel and Gabe Soria, illustrated by Warren Pleece
First Second
$19.95

Buy

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 9 May 2008 | 9:00 pm

Chuck Close to Paint Zhang Huan's Giant Head All by Himself

Close at last night's Zhang Huan opening.Patrick McMullan

So it's, like, kind of a big deal to be painted by Chuck Close. One of the world's most famous artists spends four months immortalizing your mug on an eight-by-six-foot canvas, which is then viewed by just about everyone in the art world. But artist James Siena, who just got the treatment — again! — from Close, seems pretty laid back about it. "He's a friend of mine. He asked if he could paint a picture of me, I thought it would be rude to say no," he told us at last night's opening of Zhang Huan's "Blessings" at Pace Wildenstein. (In addition to the recently completed one, Siena was also the subject of a 2002 Close portrait.) "Of course I'm honored, but Chuck's a very down-to-earth fellow. I don't really think about how incredibly famous he is," he added. Well then.

Since Close was just across the same room, holding court near the entrance, we asked him whose ginormous head he'd be painting in the future. Zhang's, he said — they've agreed to paint each other and have already exchanged photos. It sounds like a perfect match, given the penchant both artists share for large canvases and painstaking methods: One of the show's main attractions is a 59-by-19-foot Chinese landscape Zhang made by tapping ash off the end of a paintbrush. A key difference, though, is that Zhang has a team of about 100 studio assistants. As for Close: "I'm a schmuck. I've been doing all my own work." —Darrell Hartman

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 9 May 2008 | 8:45 pm

Danyel Smith Misses the BART

Photo: Getty Images

Name: Danyel Smith
Age: 42 Neighborhood: Work: Murray Hill; home: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Occupation: Editor-in-chief, Vibe magazine; vice-president/editorial director, Vibe Media Group; author of the novels More Like Wrestling (Crown, 2003), and Bliss (Crown, 2005).

Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne.

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
Fancy? Babbo. Almost always? Salmon cakes and grits at the Usual on Vanderbilt, in Brooklyn.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Ask and answer questions.

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
I did.

What’s the last thing you saw on Broadway?
If I hadn’t just seen Terrence Howard in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, it would be Fantasia in The Color Purple. Before that, it was waaaaaay back when Stockard Channing was in The Little Foxes.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
Yes, even more, when I’m sad.

What’s your drink?
A Jameson and ginger ale. With a cherry if times are happy.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
More often than not. I’m from California, so even after fifteen years here, “takeout” remains a phrase for quotation marks or italics.

What’s your favorite medication?
Aleve and Turner Classic Movies cure most everything.

What’s hanging above your sofa?
We can see Prospect Park. Kinda.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
When you only get two a year, you can splurge.

When’s bedtime?
When does the last episode of any version of Law & Order, on any channel, end? And does my DVR count?

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
I know old Times Square only from the movies. But I do like that Dave & Buster’s.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
I wish he would call me with some real-estate advice. I’d be able to really see Prospect Park.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
That the subway system is not exactly like Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in Northern California.

Who is your mortal enemy?
Time!

When’s the last time you drove a car?
Everyone snaps on me because I’m from the West, and I should know how to, but I don’t know how to drive. That said, the last time I drove a car was seven years ago in Hollywood.

Who should be the next president?
A genius pragmatist with a poet’s heart.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
Nytimes.com.

Where do you go to be alone?
Walking. From Barnes & Noble to City Bakery to McNally Robinson to Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery to … well, on and on like that.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
Being cool with not having real space. And knowing, on the morning of September 11, 2001, in the sunny comfort of my parents’ den in California, that even if it’s about Amtrak, it’s time to get — immediately — home to Brooklyn.

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 8:45 pm

Elmo Hosts As a Tap-Dancing Reptile in ‘Dinosaurs’

It’s tricyclers versus triceratops in Sesame Street’s latest direct-to-DVD title. Elmo hosts this sharp, 40-minute show that introduces kids to scaly legends — explaining where they lived, what they ate — and even transforms Elmo, Telly, and Abby into extinct tap dancers for the almost too catchy song-and-dance number called “Doing the Dinosaur.” Twice as expansive as the slightly spotty Elmo’s World: Opposites and with a tighter script than the Elmo’s World: Pets, it's a must-see ... if you’re under 4.

Sesame Street: Dinosaurs

Genius Products
On sale May 13
$14.93

Buy

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 9 May 2008 | 8:30 pm

Nick Hogan Driven to Jail

Nick Hogan is drifting to jail. Angst-ridden, but appearing ready to accept his fate, the son of pro-wrestling legend Hulk Hogan pleaded no contest today to a felony charge of reckless...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 9 May 2008 | 8:26 pm

DMX Slapped With Dogfight, Drug Charges

The SWAT team arrested the rapper after he barricaded himself in his Ariz. home.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 9 May 2008 | 8:23 pm

Recognize the Reveler: Baby Got Back (Tats)

Here's A Hint: This tiny tattooed actress was a child star who's still making movies. She usually leans toward independent films, but has a big summer blockbuster coming out this...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 9 May 2008 | 8:21 pm

Hooray! ‘New York Look’ Is Online!

Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld sitting next to model Ali Stephens's mom.Photo: Christopher Anderson

You miss Fashion Week, don't you? We see your loss and raise you pining, dear readers. But let us set our collective misery aside, for a cure has arrived. Yes, New York Look's fall '08 issue is now online in full with a couple of Web-only extras. It documents the merry mayhem of the fall '08 season. In a Q&A Karl Lagerfeld tells Harriett Mays Powell, "I love the Olsen twins. But 'celebrities' I don’t know well, I prefer not to see them in the studio before the show." Amy Larocca explains why L'Wren Scott's show is the most elegant on the calendar. In an exclusive online Q&A Chanel Iman tells Kendall Herbst, "I'm grateful to look the way I do. However, if I could change anything, I would like to be a bit bigger all over." Emma Rosenblum goes behind the scenes of a Fashion Week casting call and collects judgments on all the girls who tried out. And our Fug Girls weigh in on the batch of celebrities that shouldn't have sat in the front rows.

And then there's Chris Anderson's photo documentary of the shows from New York to Paris in 34 amazing images. One of our favorite moments from Look is above: Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld get chummy a short ways down from 17-year-old model Ali Stephens's mom. Could you imagine if that were your mom? Or if that were you? We know we'd die.

New York Look: Fall 2008 [NYM]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 8:15 pm

Artist Anne Hardy Depicts a Bashful Superhero's Worst Nightmare

Anne Hardy's Booth (2006)Courtesy of the artist and Bellwether, New York.

It's a slightly sad state of affairs for this retro collection of phone booths, constructed and photographed by Anne Hardy who might do well to pitch, say, Quentin Tarantino a Superman remake in which Superman is holed up with Lois in a roadside Mexican bar drinking tequila and rejoicing the distinct absence of Kryptonite in South America. Or something like that. Hardy has four more large photographs at Bellwether, New York, through May 17. —Emma Pearse

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 9 May 2008 | 8:15 pm

Shohei Imamura

The next edition of Spain's San Sebastian film festival, the oldest and most prestigious in the Spanish-speaking world, will feature a retrospective of Japanese film noir including the 1958 "Endless Desire"...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 9 May 2008 | 8:12 pm

Lost Makes Good on Missing Episodes

Time may move wonky for those on the Island, but for those simply watching it, it'll march on as expected. And as contractually obligated. ABC has confirmed that, before Lost moves on...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 9 May 2008 | 8:08 pm

Greenpoint Gets a Thematic Swimming Pool

Chinatown: Locals want efforts to stem outrageous development in the East Village and on the Lower East Side to be extended down here, too. [Villager]
Gramercy: This smart, young blogger still wears Uggs, loves JetBlue's new ad campaign, and is so glad that the Sean Bell protests were a flop, because Bell had to be doing something shady at that dive, right? Don't you wanna move to Gramercy just to be her friend? [Gramercy Cafe]
Greenpoint: Just in time for summer, the 'point gets its own swimming pool! And, fittingly, the water is, well, green. [Newyorkshitty]

Lower Manhattan: After years of sitting there, rottingly beautiful and unloved, Pier A finally seems on schedule for a redo to make it a tourist hub. [Downtown Express]
Prospect Heights: That girl walking home with puke all over her clothes wants you to know that she did not puke on herself. Someone else puked at the Eastern Parkway subway stop. [Gowanus Lounge]
Sunnyside: A mother cannot take her baby to the park here without those other, trashy moms blowing cigarette smoke in Baby's face! And then they start mixing it up with those F-bomb-dropping soccer boys! This park is perilous! [Queens Rocks]
Tribeca: The hood's tots, once outnumbered by the sesame seeds on an Odeon burger bun, are now so numerous there's not enough schools for them. [NYT via Curbed]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 8:02 pm

A-List Secrets: Gettin' Paid (a Whole Lot) to Party

How much do celebs get paid to host evenings at the clubs? Us normal people can't go anywhere near the VIP section, so why pay them to be there? —Lorna Actually,...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 9 May 2008 | 7:59 pm

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan, seen here in April 2008, has withdrawn from an upcoming movie about convicted murderer Charles Manson, her publicist said Friday, following an Internet report she had been axed from the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 9 May 2008 | 7:46 pm

Obama the Winner, Now and One Year Ago

What little difference a year makes. This week's Time magazine cover shows a smiling Obama, with the cover line: "And the Winner* is…" And, almost exactly a year ago, New York ran a similarly chipper Obama with the cover line "Winner*." Now the contexts for both stories were completely different — ours was about taking the lead in the fund-raising race, and Time's is, well, actually about Obama's being the winner of the primary. Still, looking back at our story, some themes look the same:

Alongside the aura of invincibility, the Clinton team projected something else [to fund-raisers]: a tacit message that it was time for big-dollar Democrats to choose between Obama and Hillary. On the bus or off the bus. No hedging allowed. And apostates would pay a price. For some in the party, the tactic struck a nerve. “It’s almost like a shakedown—you’re with us or you’re not,” Jim Neal, a North Carolina investment banker who was on an early conference call with McAuliffe, told the Times. “I find the squeeze, this early, to be quite vulgar … It’s a bullying tactic.”

Replace "fund-raisers" with "superdelegates" and you could have had that exact paragraph in a story last month. It's almost impossible to believe that we've been rethinking the same story lines for over a year now. In his Time piece, Klein rejoices that it's almost over: "A general-election campaign between John McCain and Barack Obama doesn't need any hype," he says. "It won't be boring." It's funny, we have no idea what boring is anymore.

Klein on Obama [Time]
Money Chooses Sides [NYM]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 7:35 pm

Jean Paul Gautlier's New Gig: Eurovision Commenter

Smile! You're on Eurovision!Photo: Getty Images

Jean Paul Gaultier often outfits musicians for concerts, like Madonna and Kylie Minogue for their upcoming tours. He's also decked out Eurovision competitors in years past, including transsexual Dana International from Israel in 1998 and Anna Vissi from Greece in 2006. But this year he isn't content to merely dress people. Oh no. JPG is going on the show as a commenter. In case you're not familiar with Eurovision, it's a contest that pits songs from each country in the European Broadcasting Union against each other. It's best known for being really corny (in a really awesome way). One of the longest-running shows in television history, it's been on the air since 1956, and Gaultier's been watching since childhood. AFP reports:

Waving aside criticism of the event as kitschy, Gaultier added: "In France we are a bit snobbish. Eurovision has become kitsch but in earlier years it was simply popular music."

We think this is a perfect gig for Gaultier since he's a jolly good fellow if there ever was one. The one time we met him he seemed like the giddy type that's just generally delighted to be alive. However, a lot of his fellow Frenchmen aren't thrilled about the show this year, since their competitor, Sebastien Tellier, decided to sing his song "Divine" in English instead of French. Let's hope Gaultier's case of the jollies will be catching once the broadcast starts on May 24.

Jean-Paul Gaultier to add his two cents worth during Eurovision 2008 [Sassybella]
Fashion's Gaultier to turn Eurovision commentator [AFP/Yahoo]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 7:15 pm

Hollywood plans film of hit video game 'Bioshock'

Award-winning videogame "Bioshock" is to be turned into a movie by "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski, entertainment industry media reported Friday.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 9 May 2008 | 6:50 pm

TV host can't complain about his 'great job'

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 9 May 2008 | 6:39 pm

What If Nina Garcia Moves to ‘Marie Claire’ Before Season Five?

Photo: Courtesy of Bravo

Yesterday we learned Nina Garcia will likely accept a major position at Marie Claire. But what would this mean for her judgeship on Project Runway? Elle is the sponsoring magazine of the show for only one more season, its last on Bravo before it moves to Lifetime, and Marie Claire will take its place after the network switch. But what if Garcia moves to Marie Claire before or during season five, which starts taping next month, and the network switch? Elle could be screwed, that's what. Jeff Bercovici at Portfolio reports Elle has already sold gobs of ad inventory based on the assumption Garcia would be their editor-at-large and a judge on the show. The magazine doesn't want to give up its sponsorship for season five, but if Garcia is sitting as a judge while on the Marie Claire masthead during that time, things are going to get messy. And of course, nobody has any idea what the hell to do then. Good times!

Will 'Runway' Ditch 'Elle' Before New Season? [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
Related: Breaking: Nina Garcia Heading to ‘Marie Claire’

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 6:35 pm

Who Will Be Obama's Lucky Number 2,025?

Photo illustration: Everett Bogue; Photo: Getty Images

Senator Obama will declare victory in the Democratic primary on May 20, after the polls close in Kentucky and Oregon, according to reports yesterday. Those two states' delegates plus West Virginia's — 86 in all — would not be enough to get him to the magic number (as of today he needs 167), even if he were to win them all. But he'll have won the majority of pledged delegates, and he's expecting to have amassed the commitment of enough superdelegates by then, adding up to 2025th by the night of the 20th. So who will be number 2,025? The one who puts him over the top will have symbolic value, and we have to wonder who he wants it to be. Possibilities for the all-important last superdelegate:

• Jimmy Carter: In some ways he's the obvious choice. The last Democratic president save one, a respected party elder. But his recent meeting with Hamas coupled with today's gasoline prices, evoking the misery of 1979, make this unlikely.
• Nancy Pelosi and/or Harry Reid: They've stayed studiously neutral throughout the race, a few hints from Pelosi that she's a closet Obamaphile aside, but both said they are anxious to get the nominee race settled well before the convention. They have a new Congress to get elected, and all this focus on the presidential race is limiting their ability to do that.

• John Edwards: He'd be a terrific 2025. Edwards has famously held out endorsing up until now, but he's still popular with a lot of the base Obama has been less successful with, and he and Elizabeth would fit right in on an Obama podium, Stevie Wonder blaring, balloons dropping. And he isn't in elected office so he doesn't have the added political complications facing Pelosi and Reid. Except … Edwards is not a superdelegate. How'd that happen?
• Bill Clinton: Ha-ha, just kidding. He and Hillary are disputing the 2,025 number itself, as it does not include Florida and Michigan. But they did say they would campaign hard for Obama if he was the nominee. Wouldn't it be a graceful surprise?
• Bill Richardson: Well, we already know he's voting for Obama. But what if there were another reason to have him on the podium that night?
• Al Gore: Transcendent of what he might consider local politics these days, he has a moral authority unmatched in the party, and great approval ratings. He has no love for his former White House–mates, but the prospect of having to wait through a fight over votes in Florida would probably make him too queasy to jump in. —Ellen McDermott

Obama Plans to Declare Victory May 20 [Politico]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 6:30 pm

'Sex and the City' Shows Post-40 Can Sizzle

Carrie Bradshaw and her Manolo-clad girls show 40 is the new 30.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 9 May 2008 | 6:00 pm

Why, Oh, Why Is Beyoncé Making Toddler Clothes?

Photo: Courtesy of Deréon

We don't know why the world has to work this way, but Beyoncé and her sister Solange's clothing line, Deréon, includes kids' clothes. And we're not just talking, like, tween gear. The kids' line also includes attire for newborns, infants, and toddlers. And the scariest part of it all is staring you right in the face: the ads. Excuse us for stating the obvious, but this is not how little girls should dress. Or pose, for that matter. For the sake of breaking things down, let's examine the jacket on that little girl playing piano on the right. No child — perhaps no adult — should be branded with Deréon like that. To her right her friend has similarly disturbing heels on, also with gold studs. (Side thought: What does it do to your feet if you start wearing heels that early in life?) No wonder the poor thing looks so frightened and is holding on for dear life. We're also having a little difficulty with her cropped denim jacket and long dangly necklace (which appears to have a strawberry hanging off it; thank God it wasn't another fruit). The tea party on the left is more acceptable, but we can't take our eyes off that girl at the table caked with face powder and lipstick. If you're feeling brave, take a closer look at the ads after the jump.

Photo: Courtesy of Deréon

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 6:00 pm

AIG's Mess Continues, Right in the Middle of Spring Cleaning

FINANCE
• AIG posts $7.8 billion in losses this quarter, dwarfing the $5.8 billion they recorded last quarter (and you thought $5.8 billion was a number that couldn't be "dwarfed"). The insurance giant will be raising $12.5 billion in capital. [WSJ]
• Vikram Pandit is still engaged in spring cleaning at Citigroup. Sell, sell, sell! [NYT]
• "Shame on you! You lied!" says one Bear employee to his bosses. "And, of course, the loyal employees your glib lies hurt the most are those who earned the least, the Associates." [DealBreaker]

MEDIA
• Hachette clears out fifteen staffers from its digital organization. And yes, everyone has been using "hatchet" jokes since they started cleaning house. [WWD]
• A journalism grad student asks Times assistant managing editor Susan Edgerley whether the decline of the print medium means he's wasting his time getting a degree. The answer is, unsurprisingly, "yes and no." [NYT]

LAW
• A New Yorker ventured out of the city for one day, and she stepped in poop. Naturally, she is suing. [Above the Law]
• Andrew Cuomo estimates that "hundreds and hundreds" of attorneys will be implicated in his pension-enrollment probe. [Law.com]
• The Paul Hastings associate who sent the spectacular farewell e-mail to all of her firm last week opens up to the Journal. [Law Blog/WSJ]

REAL ESTATE
• Breaking news: The richer your landlord is, the less he cares about you. [NYT]
• Another $20 million condo gets snapped up at 15 Central Park West. Is it bad we don't even bat an eye at these anymore? [Real Deal]
• Meet Dormandy South, a building that is upsettingly near our apartment. [Curbed]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 5:45 pm

Matt Lauer: No Hard Feelings for Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise recently said he regrets his infamous argument with Matt Lauer over Scientology's stance against psychiatric medication but the "Today" show host says there are no "hard feelings."
Source: FOXNews.com | 9 May 2008 | 5:40 pm

Mischa Barton: Cellulite Photos Were 'Doctored'

Mischa Barton says the paparazzi photos showing her legs dimpled with cellulite were retouched.
Source: FOXNews.com | 9 May 2008 | 5:13 pm

The Fug Awards: The Best and Worst of the Costume Institute Gala

Jennifer toes the line of indecency, Joy blinds us with Pucci, and Amber — yeah, we dunno what she's doing there.Photo: Getty Images

The Met ball is arguably even better than Oscar night: more fanciful fashion, more dramatic entrances, and a more perplexingly varied guest list that allows for the rare chance to see the likes of Hilary Duff in the same room as Julia Roberts. The only things missing are some actual awards. Until now. Herewith, our very special awards for the most memorable — even if we'd rather forget them — looks of that magical evening.

Best Argument for Panties: Jennifer Connelly's black and white dress could've been an interesting, girlie homage to the tuxedo — hey, Bruce Wayne was technically a superhero — but instead we were stressing that Jennifer was seconds away from flashing her bajingo on hostess Anna Wintour's dime. Which would be bad. Anna Wintour is not in the bajingo business.

Most Cornea-Searing: We love a little Pucci, but as Joy Bryant reminds us, a little goes a long way. Her blinding mosaic of shapes and South Beach colors feels like the artistic embodiment of our worst hangover — not to mention how the long sleeves, high neck, and full-length hem inch this into housedress territory. Pass the Tylenol. And some sunglasses.

Most Literal: Between the clingy metallic fabric and the puffy faux-cape, Amber Valletta's gown is either the world's least subtle interpretation of superhero fashion, or a rejected Queen Amidala costume from the Star Wars prequels. And is it just us, or is Amber an uncanny stand-in for Uma Thurman? Maybe we should be grateful she didn’t go for a My Super Ex-Girlfriend reference.

Bee stuns, Claire depresses, and Maggie mystifies.Photo: Getty Images

Highest Drama: We’re not sure how Bee Shaffer's megaglamorous gown fits the theme, but who cares? A-Dubs Jr. looked gorgeous. Major bonus: At one point she managed to employ André Leon Talley as a train wrangler. If that's not both super and heroic, we're not sure what is.

Highest Trauma: Unless Claire Danes's dress referenced a very obscure superhero — Depresso, say, or Mistress Bummed — it was merely a dour, constrictive downer. Not to mention that Claire herself seemed glum and nutrient-deprived. If that's what it takes to fit a size 0, then we'll take the twelve-ounce prime rib with extra horseradish, please.

Best Befuddlement: If life were The Hills, Maggie Gyllenhaal's dress would be the Justin Bobby to our Audrina: Even though it felt wrong, we kept going back for more. From square on, the front hem stumpified Maggie, but from the side the lines fell more gracefully. Plus, for once, her hair didn't look like she'd just come from spinning class. Does this mean we have to give Justin Bobby another chance too?

Beyoncé tests our patience, Mary-Kate dresses five times her age, and Elettra goes Ikea.Photo: Getty Images

Least Alluring Rut: This, above all others, was an event where Beyoncé could succumb to her nuttiest impulses, and instead she picked out a staid, baby-pink strapless gown cut like 90 percent of the other dresses she's worn lately — and which crinkled like an accordion in the car. Rediscover your inner diva, B. Then have her return the hairdo to Jane Eyre.

Best Application for AARP Membership: When did Mary-Kate Olsen turn 70? Is there a top-secret Golden Girls prequel in the works?

Best Shot at an Ikea Sponsorship: Sorry, Elettra Wiedemann, but your color-blocked caftan reminded us of nothing so much as a high-fashion take on those omnipresent duvet covers that dress the bedroom sets on every cheap reality show ever made (so, pretty much all of them). Let's hope you at least get some free Swedish meatballs out of this.

Eva, Scarlett, Katie, ow.Photo: Film Magic

Worst Face Forward: Nearly everyone. Was it bad lighting or bad luck that had so many famous faces photographing weirdly? Eva Longoria Parker, Scarlett Johansson, and Piper Perabo looked bizarrely washed-out (Perabo's tar-colored lipstick didn’t help), while the tanorexic Misters Armani and Valentino conversely looked more like well-burnished leather than ever. Even Claudia Schiffer's coloring seemed off, as did Katie Holmes's — who, alongside Michelle Monaghan, also suffered from oppressive eye makeup. Whither the middle ground? —The Fug Girls

View a Party Lines slideshow from the Met gala.
Watch a video from the red carpet.
Related: Suberfabulous Friends: The Costume Institute Gala Field Guide
For more of the Fug Girls' brilliance, check out their complete archive.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 5:12 pm

Something Made the ‘Post’ Think of Israel

Photo: Getty Images

In today's Post there's a pretty sad story about Lebanon. Gun battles are ravaging the capital of Beirut, four people were killed, and eight more wounded. The fighting is between Sunni Muslims who support the government and Shiites who support Hezbollah. Wow, Arabs killing one another in the Middle East in desperate, decades-long civil conflicts. What does that remind you of? Oh, yeah. Israel. Mazel tov on your 60th birthday, from the Post!

Sectarian Violence Rocks Lebanon [NYP]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 5:10 pm

Hollywood's Leading Lothario: John Mayer

The singer, currently linked to Jennifer Aniston, has dated many A-list ladies.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 9 May 2008 | 4:56 pm

Fashion Companies Edge Out Restaurants in Meatpacking District

Photo: Noah Kalina, Youngna Park

Oh meatpacking district, how we loathe and love ye! A spring afternoon of shopping in your Diane Von Furstenberg and Yigal Azrouël boutiques can be so lovely, yet your midnight hour coughs up a drunken trove of self-important interlopers that sends us running with tears streaming down our face. That confused ambivalence continues today as we learn that while increasing rents are forcing BBQ restaurant Hog Pit and the venerable French bistro Florent to close, fashion companies are nonetheless moving in. A Steve Madden store will open in the Hog Pit space after it closes on January 19. It's unknown who will move into the Florent space, but Karen Bellantoni, an executive at a real-estate company specializing in retail spaces, said "some serious fashion tenants" have eyes on the meatpacking district, including Bloomingdale's and Barneys.

"Florent, of course, is history," said Bellantoni. "It's like the Second Avenue Deli." But she said there are still good restaurants in the neighborhood, citing Buddakan and Del Posto. As for the popularity of the Meatpacking District, "We've just scratched the surface," she said. "Wait until the High Line opens. I don't think you're going to start to see a whole bunch of chains because they require subway service and pedestrian traffic." Felisa Dell, co-owner of The Hog Pit, has a slightly different point of view. "It started with Jeffrey New York," she said. "Jeffrey was a destination. He was really a pioneer in terms of the [collections] he had. My feeling on [Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen] is that they're basically giant advertisements. " As for Steve, which will take over The Hog Pit after it closes on Jan. 19, Dell said, "I'm actually kind of happy. Everything around here is so chi-chi."

Now BBQ and fashionistas don't normally run in the same circles (except for those who hail from Texas). But Florent is part of history, and we're sad to see it go. And places like Buddakan and Del Posto, whose grandiosity somewhat scares us, don't qualify as adequate Florent replacements. Even we have a tough time imagining a fashion company fabulous enough to take over the space.

Meatpacking District in Flux [WWD]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 9 May 2008 | 4:50 pm

Maggie Gyllenhaal on Brownstone Living

Gyllenhaal with Housing Works CEO Charles King.Photo: Getty Images

We were in a house-y mood last night. No wonder! We were in Chelsea at the opening night of Design on a Dime. It's a Real Simple–presented event benefiting Housing Works where you can walk through endless "rooms" done up by interior designers and then buy anything you want out of them at cut rates.

So, when we got to chat with the evening's host, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who recently bought a brownstone in Park Slope, we wanted to talk shelter with her. Did the rooms in her 'stone, where she lives with her toddler, Ramona, and baby daddy, actor Peter Sarsgaard, look as good as the ones at the benefit? "We're still really in the process of — so far, most of the design things that we've chosen are not actually furniture choices as much as tiles and fixtures and that kind of thing," she said, eating a mini-burger. (She'd been shooting a Marie Claire Batman cover all day, and girlfriend was tired and hungry.) "I kind of need to get another movie before I furnish it."

Good Lord, all those rooms and floors must be overwhelming, we said in that faux-concerned tone that people who rent studios and junior 1BRs use to mask their brute, molten envy when talking to the heavily landed. "It was," she admitted, "but it's incredible how quickly you spread out when you have room."

So what does Gyllenhaal think about her fellow Brooklyn celebs, Jennifer Connelly and hubby Paul Bettany, fleeing the borough? "I don't know her" — we found that a little suspect, because we know all about that SlopeCelebs Yahoo group where they all conspire about the best times to hit the food co-op without being spotted — "but everyone's telling me that she's leaving, she's leaving. But she lives in a mansion, like a huge house, and we don't…"

Our eyebrow involuntarily took flight.

"I mean, we live in a brownstone, it's huge, it's big, believe me, I'm grateful for all the space we have. But I think [Connelly] was saying that her house was kind of too much. Our house, like, it doesn't feel like too much."

She then reiterated that she was glad to be out of Manhattan. And then she dropped the bomb, one in a string that may eventually restore Park Slope fully to the unboldfaced, if not the unfinanced: "To be honest, I'm thinking in the next few years of moving even further away." Like … to Gowanus? we asked. "To the country," she said, just before her publicist told us that the house tour was over. —Tim Murphy

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 9 May 2008 | 4:41 pm

Disclaimer | About

Blogs : Humor pages | Norkay's Blog | Kids Stories | Indian Recipes | Database Tech Blog

Sundries : World Video Clips | Songs Clips | Indian Video Clips |