A rep for the Indiana Jones star says he's "embarrassed" by a YouTube video that...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 11 Jun 2008 | 12:03 am

A Shoe-In for Music Fans

Chuck Taylor has some new sneaker pimps. Converse, the 100-year-old company that makes the iconic footware, has invited musicians to collaborate in order to mark the company's...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 11 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am

Nicole Kidman: Not Nude on Vogue Cover!

Rumors that a pregnant Nicole Kidman would appear nude à la Demi Moore on an upcoming cover of Vogue have been greatly exaggerated. Kidman is on the July issue, but she is fully...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 10 Jun 2008 | 11:54 pm

Paranoia less than deep in "Happening" (Reuters)

Reuters - M. Night Shyamalan's breakout hit, "The Sixth Sense," achieved just the right balance of creepiness, horror, supernatural thrills and pop psychology. The writer-director has been chasing those elusive qualities ever since, sometimes down intriguing sci-fi backstreets ("Signs") but more often down blind alleys ("Lady in the Water").

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Jun 2008 | 11:33 pm

Ken Starr helping lawmakers fight paparazzi

The man whose investigation of President Clinton provided reams of tabloid fodder is now working to help crack down on photographers working for the very publications his efforts once filled.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 11:17 pm

Coldplay Tour Temporarily on Ice

Coldplay isn't free to Viva la Vida just yet. Unspecified "production delays" have forced the British rockers to postpone their upcoming North American tour by two weeks,...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 10 Jun 2008 | 11:16 pm

Hedge-Fund Maybe-Suicide Detective Has A Lenny Briscoe Moment

There are a lot of questions out there about Samuel Israel III, the hedge-fund manager whose SUV was found parked with a suicide note, "Suicide Is Painless," scrawled on the hood on Hudson Valley's Bear Mountain Bridge yesterday; the day Israel was supposed to check into a Massachusetts prison for a twenty-year sentence he got when he defrauded customers of $450 million. Questions like, Is it weird that police have not yet found his body? Did he really commit suicide? Or is he on the lam? State investigator Bruce Cuccia has been answering these questions from the press all day long, which is probably why he let a little Lenny Briscoe humor slip out in response to a reporter from the Lower Hudson Journal-News this afternoon:

Asked why Israel would drive himself to prison, Cuccia said, "I have the same question. What, do they have valet parking?"

Nah, but we hear they've got it on the Other Side! Ha! Er … wait …

Armonk hedge fund swindler may have leapt from bridge to avoid prison [Lower Hudson Journal-News]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm

Coolio's Livin' in an Outlaw's Paradise

The rapper was arrested for driving with a suspended license.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 10:47 pm

Video: We Race Ali Stephens! Literally!

Ali Stephens is about to kick off her third season modeling, but she's already starred in Calvin Klein and Chloé campaigns and dozens of runway shows. And before all that, the 17-year-old Salt Lake City native ran cross-country in high school for more than two years. So what better way to get to know her than going for a run in East River Park? We might have lost to her in a race or two, but we don't feel too bad about it since the chick runs a mile in 5:31. Press play to see her run like the wind and teach us her runway walk.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 10:30 pm

MSNBC and Olbermann Creeping Up on FNC and O’Reilly

Last week, for the first time ever, Keith Olbermann's Countdown, program was the No. 1 cable news show at 8 p.m. for adults in the 25–54 age demographic. It defeated Bill O'Reilly's Factor, which MSNBC hadn't bested since 2001. Likewise, the network as a whole beat Fox News in prime time for the first time (not including debate nights) since the same year.

On Friday night, Laura Ingraham subbed in for Bill O'Reilly, and if you discount that night, O'Reilly comes out on top. But since it was just announced that Ingraham will get her own show on Fox News, it's noteworthy that she doesn't do as strongly against MSNBC.

O'Reilly still trounces Olbermann among total viewers, but many of those are out of (read: older than) the key advertising demographic. TVNewser has a crowing e-mail from NBC News senior vice-president Phil Griffin.

We expect the Fox News crack publicity team is already spinning on behalf of O'Reilly's "No Spin Zone" as we type. We can't wait to see what they come up with.

MSNBC's Big Week [TVNewser/Mediabistro]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 10:08 pm

Women at the Fashion Meets Finance Event Disappoint Us

The invitation for the Fashion Meets Finance event held last Thursday at Taj read, "Women in fashion need men who can facilitate their pre-30 marriage/retirement plan … And men in finance need women who will allow them to leverage their career in their dating equity." Who would've thunk such copy would draw so many people to RSVP (over 1,000 — twice the capacity of Taj) that the organization would have to turn away more than half of them? We mean, when we first reported on this event, we assumed women like us would find the premise (a) unnecessary since it's impossible to have a drink more than two feet from a banker (or their ilk) in this city and (b) repulsive/offensive since it assumes fashion chicks are blatant gold diggers. We thought the whole thing might prompt a good portion of them to prove they weren't.

Here's what a few women said about the event:

Cindy, a twentysomething, tried to pretend she didn't care about salary but fails to convince:

"It wasn't really about how much they made, it was about where they worked, and it was the fact they were willing to put their names and the amount they were making … That they were that confident to put it into the profile" — [Ed. note: This is an optional part of the sign-up process] — "that was interesting to me."

Jessica Anderson, 31, said:

"Women want to meet successful men. You don't want to marry some loser."

And Kerry, 26, confessed:

"[My mate's income] has to be higher than mine … All women are looking for labels or love."

Don't these women know a man's money isn't nearly as important as the way he looks? Don't tell us we're the last people who are shallow like that.

DOUGH JOB [NYP]
Related:
Happy-Hour Horror [Daily Intel]
Fashion Meets Finance ‘Purifies the Dating Pool’

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 10:00 pm

Hollywood: ‘Wait, There Are Women Who Are Children, Too?’

The attack by women upon men's treasured box-office dominance continues — will it never end?! — with today's Times piece comparing Kit Kittredge: An American Girl to Sex and the City. Though Kit Kittredge is for children, and "has no sex and not much of a city," writes Michael Cieply, the movies share an "intense niche audience": people without penises, who make up 51 percent of the humans on earth. The article makes some nice points about the ways in which the American Girl movie's marketing mirrors SATC's — including movie-night dinners reminiscent of the girls' nights out that drove the opening-weekend box office of SATC — but it mostly feels hilarious, as Hollywood grapples yet again with the notion of females as potential audience members.

Once Kit Kittredge opens strong — and it will, those American Girl fans are insane — look for even more articles about how "10-year-old women" are the next great hope for Hollywood. "Is there a property out there about these so-called 'little women'?" executives will scream into their phones. "Whaddya mean, we already made it?"

More Girls, Little Ones, Try to Take Back the Multiplex [NYT]
Related: Video: American Girls Dream Big

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

The Jonas Brothers: Ready to Rock This Summer

Squealing is about to be taken to a whole new level. The frenzy that perpetually surrounds the Jonas Brothers will reach a fever pitch this summer, thanks to Joe, Nick and Kevin starring...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 10 Jun 2008 | 10:00 pm

'Monster of Florence' is real-life murder mystery (AP)

AP - "The Monster of Florence" (Grand Central Publishing. 317 pages. $25.99), by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi: This gripping collaboration between a best-selling American author and an Italian journalist is a most unconventional thriller, a real-life murder mystery in which the authors become suspects.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Jun 2008 | 9:57 pm

Mario Lopez' Beefed-Up Ride

Real men aren't afraid to ride in the Mini Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Newly single Mario Lopez, sporting a "Kiss the Cook" apron, hopped out of a smaller version of the iconic...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 10 Jun 2008 | 9:30 pm

Brooke Hogan "Freaked Out" Over Mom's Romance

Not everyone approves of Hollywood cougars—least of all their cubs. Brooke Hogan's reaction to her 48-year-old mom, Linda, dating someone 29 years her junior? "I'm...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 10 Jun 2008 | 9:23 pm

New Coldplay Album to Be Released by Headless Record Company

Fox's Roger Friedman is reporting that nerd-employing music conglomerate EMI has just axed the heads of Capitol and Virgin Records (president Lee Trink and CEO Jason Flom, respectively) and neither will be replaced because Guy Hands and his partners at Terra Firma, the private-equity company that bought EMI last year, "don't believe in label presidents."

This comes shortly before next week's release of the shareholder-anticipated Coldplay album Viva La Vida, so Friedman is convinced that it's completely crazy (and industry analyst Perez Hilton agrees). But we're not yet discounting the possibility that it just might be crazy enough to work. What part of the promotional strategy for the new Coldplay album hasn't already been in place for months (1. Send it to stores. 2. Beg Chris Martin to write more songs like "Yellow" for his next album)? And, moving forward, can't geeky EMI president (and former Googler!) Doug Merrill just build robots to dictate company policy? We see no reason why not.

Coldplay, Beatles Lose Leader [Fox News]

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

Elettra Schools Letterman; the $5 Makeup Steal

MAKEUP
• Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, the face of Lancôme, explained how to use compact powder to David Letterman on his show last night. Nice move by Lancôme’s marketing department, eh? [Chic Report/Fashion Week Daily]

• A look that’s popping up already for summer is dark-lined eyes, bronzed skin, and a fuchsia-magenta lip. Just in the past few weeks, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Keira Knightley, and Kate Moss have been spotted sporting the combo. [Kiss and Makeup]

• CVS plans to replace "ingredients of concern" in their in-house beauty products in the name of consumer safety. We’ll believe it when we see it. [Cosmetics and Toiletries]

• The Ulta Beauty Mosiac features 30 shades of eye shadow, ten glosses, and four shades of blush. Plus, brushes. That’s a lot of stuff for your face. And it’s only $5. So do your thing. [Outblush]

SKIN
• This Works came out with an eight-piece travel skin-care set. It includes lip balm, cooling spritz, and moisturizer. Hey, someone has to think of these clever combinations so we don't have to. [British Vogue]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 9:15 pm

The Heat Makes Us Disgusting

On days like today and yesterday, we have a special little ritual. As we trudge through the subway and along the sidewalk to work, we devote all of our energy to thinking of a creative way to describe how butt-puckeringly hot it is outside. We're never the first people to the office, so we know the "Holy Fucking Shit It's Like Being in an Oven" shtick has been repeated over and over. Instead, we have to think of an original way to describe the horror that is the outside world in New York. It's always worthy of comment, but to repeat the obvious is beneath us. So we'll stride into our cubicle area and declare, "I'm so greasy I could go down an entire Slip 'n Slide right now — without the water." Or, "If my crotch was a geographical feature from The Princess Bride, right now it would be the Fire Swamp!"

But all of that bluster masks what we're really thinking about, which is that not only does the heat make us feel disgusting — it makes us disgusting, period. There is no way to endure this kind of sweltering monstrosity with grace. In fact, we are practically obligated to take up some really gross habits. Your Daily Intel editor Chris, for example, likes to press as much of his naked skin as possible up against the revolting (but deliciously cool) metal supports inside air-conditioned subway cars, exposing his entire arm (and sometimes portions of his belly and even face) to countless germs, bugs, and bits of spattered poop. Jessica has been known to hold open the ice-cream freezer at the bodega until she is yelled at by the owner. Other editors here will stand naked, sopping wet, in front of a blasting air conditioner after a shower or forgo all forms of underwear all day long.

We assume we're not alone in this, but we've been wrong before. Readers, fill us in. Are we the only ones who become subhuman at times like these? Or are there some of you who sweat more out of one armpit than the other and walk down the street with one hand on your hip, hoping to air out the offending crevice? Who among you smells his or her socks at the end of the day to really appreciate how bad it was? Who have forced his or her significant other to make out sans the obligatory post-commute shower? Tell us, or just judge us, in the comments.

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

Beck Is Just Terrible at Surprises

1. Beck, "Modern Guilt"
Last night, at a top-secret, announced-in-advance show in Los Angeles, Beck played the title track of his mysterious new album which everyone knows is going to drop, totally by surprise, sometime in the next week or two, probably following the dissemination of a huge press release. [YouTube via Rock Daily]

2. Weezer, B-sides
Want to hear three songs that weren't good enough to be on Weezer's new album? Well, here they are anyway. Yes, they are bad. [Stereogum]

3. Nas and DJ Green Lantern, The Nigger Tape
Anyone who's been following the saga of Nas's currently untitled upcoming album would probably expect its accompanying mix tape to be completely over-the-top insane. Those folks will definitely not be disappointed. [Nah Right]

4. Foo Fighters feat. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, "Ramble On" (live)
Joined onstage on Saturday by two-thirds of the most imposing rhythm section in rock-and-roll history, Dave Grohl turns in a vocal performance that would get him kicked out of a high-school Led Zeppelin cover band (Taylor Hawkins isn't bad, though!).
[Idolator]

5. Al Green, "Lay It Down" (live on Letterman)
In town to promote his non-embarrassing new album, Green tosses off a non-embarrassing version of its lead single. [Culture Bully]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 9:00 pm

Coney Island High Jinks: This Summer, Adorably Tame!

Chelsea: At the new Jade condos — which appear to be named for their interior designer, Mick Jagger's daughter, Jade — the kitchens, bathrooms, and closets come in a glossy "pod" in the middle of the room that you can close up. Cool, but it's still nice to be able to crack a window near the throne before you settle in on it, especially when your crib costs $1.5 mil. [Curbed]
Coney Island: As soon as the Parks Department folks drive off, the kids sneak into the ocean after hours in their underwear. Then they drag the lifeguard chairs into the water. Which actually looks really fun. Just don't leave your litter on the beach, guys. [Flatbush Pigeon]
East Village: Local old-timers will protest Friday night in front of the newish Bowery Wine Company, on 1st Street, in part because the local Young Republicans Club plans to meet there. Republicans in the East Village!? That's worse than Yankees in Atlanta, Scarlett! [Neither More Nor Less]

Murray Hill: This longtime snoozer–frat hell of a neighborhood is suddenly so chic that locals can afford to be magnanimous about a cute-looking homeless shelter. Now that's gentrification! [WelcometoMurraytown]
Ridgewood: What to do when there's no room in front of your new building for a yard? Lay in the turf vertically, around the fence! Having said that, we're so hungry to own these days, if you gave us a unit here, we'd learn to love it. At least we'd have a terrace. [Queens Crap]
Riverdale: The Riverdale Press, the longtime independent, local weekly that won a Pulitzer for editorials in 1998, has been sold to a chain, but the entire staff is expected to remain on board. [Media Buyer Planner via Talk Bronx]
Roosevelt Island: The isle's first day without the tram, relying solely on the subway, wasn't as hellacious as it could've been, some feel. [Roosevelt Islander]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 8:35 pm

Supergrass’ Gaz Coombes on His New Album and Turning Down Spielberg

While most of their Britpop brethren have long since split up or run out of ideas, Supergrass — thirteen years after their 1995 debut, I Should Coco — are still excitedly conquering new frontiers. Their sixth album, Diamond Hoo Ha (out today), finds them reapplying themselves to the full-throttle glam rock of their early material, but with an apparent newfound appreciation for Krautrock (possibly the result of recording at Berlin's Hansa Studios, where David Bowie made Heroes and Low). Front man Gaz Coombes spoke with Vulture about his new album and the secrets of his band's longevity.

Your bassist, Mick Quinn, had a pretty serious accident last summer. How's he doing?
Yeah, he was on holiday in France and his bedroom was on the first story, and he was sleepwalking, got disoriented, and just sort of wandered out the window and did a lot of damage. But he's doing really well. He's back to the gigs, and things are back to normal in that department. But he's still working hard on the physical therapy and stuff.

The album is called Diamond Hoo Ha. Why?
The Diamond Hoo Ha Men were [drummer] Danny [Goffey] and I. That was the name we played under while Mick was rehabilitating and getting sorted, from November to March. We went out as a two-piece and played at clubs at midnight. It was a half-hour of power.

You recorded it in Berlin, at Hansa Studios, where Bowie did Heroes and Low. What was that like?
Well, at first, none of the equipment worked. And the two-inch tape hadn't yet arrived, so we had to take a couple days to get everything ready. It hadn't really changed much. It was all still seventies couches and stuff.

Your new single, "Rebel in You," is about deciding whether to continue a relationship with a troubled person. Is it about anyone specific?
Well, we're in a dangerous area here — I'll be diplomatic. It's probably more about people in our lives who you kind of love, but they frustrate you and, I don't know, wake you up at nine in the morning completely off their head, holding half a bottle of vodka.

There was some speculation that 2005's Road to Rouen — a dark record featuring just nine songs, the last of which was called "Fin" — might be Supergrass' last album. Was splitting up ever a possibility?
No, no, no. I don't think so. We went through some problems as a band, but I always knew it was going to be okay. It was strange that all four of us had some pretty heavy shit happening at the same time. Mine and [keyboardist] Rob [Coombes]'s mom died and you couldn't really help it if stuff crept into lyrics or the music or even the production and how we played. I think records should all be a snapshot of your life at a point, and for us that was a really rough period.

You've been signed to EMI — a company that's seen its share of problems lately — for your entire career. How's your relationship with them these days, and would you ever consider releasing an album without a label?
Yeah, I'm sure I can see that happening. It's been the one downside of this record — everything's been beautiful apart from Parlophone and EMI. It's a shame, really. There's some really, really great people that we've worked with over the years, and a few great people that we worked with on this record. But when your record company doesn't want to put money into something, then it kind of puts us into a corner as a band. The single, "Rebel in You," you won't be able to buy it in a store. It would've been nice to get a physical release. Our contract says EMI has an option for one more album from us, so we'll see what happens.

Steven Spielberg once approached you guys about starring in your own Monkees-style TV show…
That was after the first record, right when we were recording In It for the Money, and we met up and went over ideas. It was a nice compliment, but we wanted to make our record at the time. We'd totally do it now, though, if he's got any ideas for a show about a slightly aging rock-and-roll band.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 8:30 pm

Tommy Hilfiger's Summer Wedding Sounds Modest

At their engagement party last night, Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo said their wedding will be "very simple." Indeed, nothing says simple quite like Champagne at the Klimt-stocked Neue Gallery with Anna Wintour, Harvey Weinstein, Vera Wang, Russell Simmons, and, you know, reporters. The wedding, they revealed, is a two-part affair. The first — the ceremony, natch — will take place at Hilfiger's undoubtedly very simple home on the undoubtedly very simple private island of Mustique in the West Indies on 8-8-08, which Hilfiger heard from his Chinese business partner was an "auspicious number." Over on Mustique, they don't have to worry about paparazzi. "There’s, like, no access, no hotels," Hilfiger said. "They’re not going to get there unless they camp out on the beach somewhere." To further maintain the simpleness, no guests were invited to part one. "It’s a non-wedding wedding. No bridesmaids. My kids are walking me down the aisle. It’s a beach. There’s no shoes, nothing to organize. Just a little flowers and our kids and us," Ocleppo said. She added she wanted it to be exactly the opposite of her last wedding, which didn't work out.

"We have no guests because where do you draw the line?" she continued. "It's all or nothing. And we're going to do the 'all' in October at the Plaza! We wanted the ceremony to be more intimate and romantic, and the party to be, like, fabulous and everybody!" The affair at the Plaza will be a black-and-white ball in the upstairs ballroom. "We'll probably have like 400, 450, maybe 500 [guests]? A big party." So, would the bride need two wedding gowns? "I'm not quite sure," she said. Though we'd guess the answer is "yes" because she already has one picked out for Mustique. "I have a beautiful, beautiful Oscar de la Renta gown," she said, adding it wasn't dissimilar to the Giambattista Valli gown she had on last night. "I'm excited to wear my dress!" Maybe it's just us, but we have a hunch she'll wear white in October, too. —Katie Goldsmith and Jada Yuan

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 8:30 pm

Billie Letts goes back to Wal-Mart in fourth novel (AP)

AP - "Made in the U.S.A." (Grand Central Publishing. 355 pages. $24.99), by Billie Letts: Billie Letts returns to Wal-Mart in the opening scenes of her fourth novel, which feature a shoplifting gymnastics star and her younger brother.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Jun 2008 | 8:15 pm

Artist Natsuki Uruma Tries a New Position

It’s hard to tame our tee-heeing inner 5-year old when we behold Natsuki Uruma’s finely crafted tissue-paper prints: They look like ancient Greek templates for those Nerve.com position-of-the-day illustrations. And there are more of them, along with some oddly erotic haiku-inspired videos, at Rivington Arms through June 29. —Emma Pearse

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 8:00 pm

Designer Sari Gueron Likes Low-Crotch Pants

Designer Sari Gueron's easy-to-wear dresses and effortlessly cool clothes have made her an editor's favorite for seasons. And her fashion pedigree is flawless: She interned under John Galliano, and her first job out of the Rhode Island School of Design was with Oscar de la Renta. After eight collections, Gueron has cemented her own signature look: a bankable, beautiful cocktail dress. Find out how she stays cool in this sweltering heat and why exactly she likes baggy crotches.

You’ve worked with John Galliano and Oscar de la Renta. What did you do for them?
Well, I interned at Galliano. He would actually give me really fun, creative projects. Like, say, he’d give me ten T-shirts and be like slash them up with the inspiration of Native American/Daytona/anatomy. And it was fun; I’d have to slash away! And Oscar was my first, like, real job. Straight of out of college, I learned how to judge the quality of fabric. I feel like he uses the most amazing, luxurious fabrics.

You’ve also launched a second line, Sari, right?
Yes, we have. It’s coming out in stores in June/July at Barneys Co-Op and others.

Do you think it’s important for a young designer to expand into different lines?
For me, it just really made sense. Everyone has their own path for how to grow their business. I’m sort of a casual, bohemian girl for day personally. And I feel while like a lot of customers spend a lot of money on their eveningwear; for day, it’s more disposable. You don’t have to spend $900 on a day dress. This line is what a cool girl can wear to work.

Any tips on how to stay fashionable in the city in the summer when it’s so hot?
I have seen girls put a belt on my dresses, and it makes them look really great, personalizes it. Also, I’m really into bright little cardigans. I made this bright-yellow cardigan, and you can just throw it over a little dress. It’s fun.

You’ve had model Lisa Cant open every runway show you’ve done. Why’s that?
We’re friends. We’ve shared a house at the beach together. I love that little tradition we have that she opens my show. It’s almost good luck. And she looks good in everything.

Favorite designers?
I always love Lanvin. I relate the most to Lanvin. When you see the techniques up close, they’re so modern, but the clothes are so classic in a way. He uses these really innovative ways to finish the clothing. I always like to see what Balenciaga’s doing because it’s always different.

Where do you shop?
45 RPM. It’s near my house in Soho. And BDDW.

What’s the first designer item that you ever bought?
Black Chanel satin pumps with a charcoal-gray toe.

Are there any trends you love right now?
Low-crotch pants. It’s comfy, not like skinny pants that are so tight everywhere.

What are you lusting after right now?
An Eres bikini. And a new surfboard because mine is at my parents’ house in Florida.

What should every woman have in her closet?
When you’re really stressed and really in a hurry, you need to have a cocktail dress that you know looks good and you can just throw it on. That’s what I try to make.

What can’t you live without?
My two-year-old dog, Lucy. She’s an Irish Jack Russell. She comes to work every day and welcomes everybody. —Kendall Herbst

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 7:30 pm

Pilot Preview: J.J. Abrams’s ‘Fringe’ Brings ‘X-Files’ Weirdness Back to Fox

This week, Vulture's taking a look at the best and worst of the fall season's picked-up TV shows. Which are good? Can anything replace Cavemen? And, most important, what's worth a DVR season pass?

Title: Fringe

Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek), Lance Reddick (The Wire), John Noble (Lord of the Rings)

Network: Fox, Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

The pitch: Another spooky mystery from J.J. Abrams, this one with an overtly supernatural vibe.

Pilot report: When an entire 737 full of passengers is exposed to a deadly chemical that boils them down to skeletons in gruesome seconds, FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Torv) and her office romance, Agent John Scott (Mark Valley), are part of the investigatory team called in to Boston's Logan Airport. With the help of a Dr. Walter Bishop (Noble), a genius scientist sprung from a mental institution, and his recalcitrant son Peter (Jackson), Dunham begins to uncover a worldwide plot called the Pattern — as the mysterious FBI agent Broyles (Reddick, better known as The Wire's Cedric Daniels) tells her, ""It's as if someone out there's experimenting, but the whole world's their lab."

Representative dialogue: The show's a pretty expert mix of pseudoscience and horror, so we'll offer two:

Dr. Bishop: The human brain generates a quantifiable electric field. I posited in 1976 that it is possible to synchronize the fields of two distinct minds to allow the sharing of information across the unconscious state, like a string between two tin cans.
Peter: You know what's great about that is that it's completely insane.
Olivia: You're saying that I can talk to John in a coma … and he can tell me what the suspect looks like?
Dr. Bishop: It's not an exact science —
Peter: It's not even science!

But also:

Co-pilot: "BLAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!" [Skin melts away, jaw falls from skull]

Breakout star: Between her Blanchettesque good looks and willingness to strip down to her underwear in the pilot, we feel pretty confident that Torv will be appearing in the fevered dreams of nerds all too soon.

Worth a season pass? Yes. An X-Files with the mythology laid out from the get-go, Fringe promises to ride grody special effects, the chemistry of its oddball trio, and Lance Reddick's basso profundo to the genre promised land. After watching the pilot, we can only say: More, please.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 7:15 pm

Christine Quinn Thinks Bloomberg Should Stay Mayor for As Long As He Likes

You'd think that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who's considered one of Mayor Bloomberg's likeliest successors in 2010, would be all for term limits. But no! "I think they're bad for city government," she told us at last night's benefit dinner for the Ghetto Film School at Bottino. "In their purest sense, elections should be term limits. The voters should vote people out when they think they're not doing a good job anymore." Plus, she added, "term limits really rob people of the ability to develop long-term expertise and deep knowledge in issues." So if his clock weren't winding down, how long would her pal Mayor Bloomberg stay in office? She laughed. "A while. I think he's been a very, very good mayor," she said, adding that her favorite Bloomberg accomplishment is the smoking ban, which she, as the city's health-committee chair, helped push through. "It was remarkable because when that bill was introduced, everyone said it would be the political death knell of the mayor, myself, and everybody else who voted for it. And the mayor knew it was the right thing for public health, and he didn't really care about the politics. He was proven right in the end." —Darrell Hartman

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 7:15 pm

The Jesus of Uncool

Chris Martin: The Rolling Stone Interview When Chris Martin emerges from a town car on a quiet west village street one afternoon in May, he's dressed like a stagehand — black khakis, black hooded top. You'd never notice him, which is probably the idea. But then he starts singing Talking Heads' "Girlfriend Is Better" loud enough to be heard from across the street. The guy can't help it: He's a ham. The paparazzi siege that came with marrying Gwyneth Paltrow and having two angelic blond children with her has forced a certain ...

Source: Rolling Stone: Features | 10 Jun 2008 | 6:57 pm

Meaning of Ashley Alexandra Dupré's Tattoo Revealed!

Yesterday, when photos of prostitute Ashley Alexandra Dupré and her mother frolicking on the beach back home in New Jersey surfaced, we immediately became transfixed by her mom's amazing 46-years-old-but-looks-like-a-20-year-old's butt. What does she do? we wondered, as we dialed our Pilates instructor. Meanwhile, uptown, the Times' Jennifer 8. Lee had looked at the photos and was also on the phone — although she was talking to classics scholars at city universities.

Lee was calling to ask about the meaning of Dupré's belly tattoo, which reads "tutela valui" and has been the subject of much debate, since Latin words often mean multiple things. Back in March, The Wall Street Journal had said it meant "fair value," but they were wrong, according to Columbia graduate student Eric Ensley. Turns out, Dupré is much smarter than that.

“‘Tutela’ is a ‘custodian, safeguard, defense’ — something like that,” he said. “It can mean a lot of things. ‘Protection’ is a good translation. ‘Valui’ means ‘I was strong,’ literally. This is the exact translation I can give you, ‘I was strong by means of a keeper, by means of safety.’... “I guess on some weird level, if you wanted to translate it into some modern sense of the word, You could say, ‘I used protection.’”

Okay, as far as we're concerned, it might as well just say "genius."

To Decipher a Tattoo, Caveat Emptor [City Room/NYT]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 6:35 pm

P. Diddy Spends Two Hours Getting Ready

We've had one-on-one time with Sean "Diddy" Combs before, during which we were blinded by his glorious bling (and sheer star-iness, of course). But our Diddy adventure ended after just about seven minutes, so we had little time for astute observations. So you can imagine our envy of the Telegraph's Celia Walden, who got major alone time with Diddy on his yacht. She writes its "white leather Fendi upholstery [was] littered with prone bodies." And he wore a coral cashmere sweater with white linen pants, under which, she notes, he might not have been wearing underwear. Then she sat down to a 7 p.m. breakfast with Diddy and his entourage, at which she was unable to maintain a straight face when he told her he's lost his taste for Champagne. She had to depart when his stylist pulled His Diddyness away to get ready for the evening. What does that routine entail?

"It takes me two hours to get ready," he says, "worse than any woman I've ever been with. I take a long bath and then moisturise with oils and cologne when I'm still wet so that it all seeps into my pores — then I air-dry by dancing around to James Brown."

Air-drying? Love.

P Diddy: 'Why haven't I met the Queen yet?' [Telegraph]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 6:30 pm

Reality TV Becoming More Dangerous for Celebrities and the Marginally Famous

The Post reports this morning that three vaguely recognizable individuals have injured themselves on the set of NBC's new reality series Celebrity Circus (which premieres tomorrow, so set your DVR!); Christopher "Peter Brady" Knight broke his arm trying to operate a human-size hamster wheel, former actress Stacey Dash cracked three ribs at the end of an ill-fated attempt to swing through the air on a rope, and Olympic gold-medal swimmer Janet Evans fell fifteen feet from a trapeze, somehow removing half of her partner's leotard in the process. Clearly this show will be awesome — but does it bode well for the future?

Yesterday, the Times' David Carr praised cable for leading the charge on narrative drama as the major networks green-light game shows with the specific intent to injure contestants in the most hilarious ways possible. (Look out for ABC's Wipeout, which will somehow employ huge boxing robots, and I Survived a Japanese Game Show, whose premise should be self-explanatory.) Also, reports emerged over the weekend that Chris Rock had somehow fallen victim to a reality-show prank (purportedly staged by American producers) in South Africa, where he was falsely accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl. We can't really imagine any context in which this could possibly be funny but, if this celebrity-hurting trend gets any more popular, maybe someone will finally call us back about our pitch for Jousting With the Stars.

CIRCUS STUNTS [NYP]
Golden Age for TV? Yes, on Cable [NYT]
Comedian Chris Rock victim of practical joke in SAfrica [AFP]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 6:30 pm

Anybody for watching network TV? Please?

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 6:15 pm

Ryan Seacrest Finally Defines His Relationship With Simon

"I can speak from experience — girls can come and go, but a 'bromance' can last forever." —Ryan Seacrest [Variety]

"We'll be sitting around and drinking beers after we play a big show, and we'll be really happy. But at the same time, it's not the '80s any more. We're not all riding around in limousines and snorting coke off of hookers' tits." —Jim James is still waiting for the sign that My Morning Jacket has "made it" [A.V. Club]

"The lyrics really have the light shone on them when they're balladized. So there is something to be said about, 'Make him work work, make him work work work work work.'" —Alanis Morissette finally speaks about her cover of "My Humps" [LAT]

"I've written my own sitcom that's just been picked up by Nickelodeon that I start at Christmas. I'm the star of it. It's a bit like Hannah Montana, but the black version." —Mel B [Mirror]

"I would love to only be doing David Mamet movies, but that's not the career I have. I'm a journeyman. I work. If you need a good doorway made, then you call Tim Meadows." —Tim Meadows [A.V. Club]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 6:00 pm

Jared Kushner Opens Up

Lloyd Grove gives Observer owner and junior real-estate magnate Jared Kushner the long-form treatment today, publishing a painstaking Q&A on Portfolio's Website. In it, we learn a lot about his strategies for the salmon paper and his investments, but, near the end, we get some insight into Jared Kushner the person. Grove asked the 27-year-old about what he learned watching his powerful father plead guilty to witness tampering and tax violations, and then serve nearly two years in jail. Kushner, who wouldn't discuss private matters like his former relationship with Ivanka Trump, suddenly opened up:

I took away the fact that you realize in life that there are things that can be taken from you, things that you think are permanent that aren't necessarily permanent. The only things that are really permanent are love, family, friendship, and that is a lesson. At the end of the day that's really what it boils down to. The rest of it is just stuff.

We have two reactions to this. First, that's a pretty good lesson and a refreshingly honest answer about something personal that must have been incredibly difficult. Still, why is it always the people with the most "stuff" who are the ones realizing that it doesn't mean anything?

The World According to…Jared Kushner [Portfolio]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 5:55 pm

D-List Rappers Find Cache & Cash Abroad

1990s rappers like Coolio command respect--and money--from Russia to Taiwan.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 5:46 pm

Jimmy Choo Has New Ads, Discovers Internet Marketing

We've been hearing a lot more about Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik than Jimmy Choo for a while now. Perhaps it's because Choo didn't have the groundbreaking wherewithal to paint their soles a color. But the company did get a pair or two in Sex and the City, so their goods are creeping back onto the fancy-footwear radar. And the brand has upped the ante with a beefy fall advertising campaign starring Angela Lindvall, shot by risqué photographer Terry Richardson. Richardson may not be your particular taste (the man does have an open call for civilian nude models on his Website), but these images, shot at the Plaza, are damn good shoe porn. We never thought we'd want a pair of open-toed purple-suede booties before, but these ads will make us buy almost anything!

WWD reports Choo has taken out a four-page ad in September's Vogue — its biggest yet — and invested in online advertising for the first time this fall. Sounds like they're catching on to this whole "how to promote yourself in 2008" thing pretty quickly.

Memo Pad: Does This Really Happen at the Plaza? [WWD]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 5:45 pm

Music Review: N.E.R.D. offer another tantalizing freak-out (AP)

AP - N.E.R.D., "Seeing Sounds" (Interscope)

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Jun 2008 | 5:18 pm

Andrew Cuomo’s Kiddie Victory

LAW
• A.G. Andrew Cuomo reaches a groundbreaking agreement with Verizon, Sprint, and Time Warner Cable: The Internet-service providers will block child-pornography sites. [NYT]
• April and May did a number on the legal sector's employment rate. [WSJ]
• In the wake of the lawsuit against Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman by its former head of intellectual property, the issue of the managing partner firing other partners has been brought into the spotlight. [Law.com]

FINANCE
• Last week's Fashion Meets Finance party united fashionistas with bankers. "Women in fashion need men who can facilitate their pre-30 marriage/retirement plan," read the invitation. "And men in finance need women who will allow them to leverage their career in their dating equity." [NYP]
• Meanwhile, the write-downs announced yesterday by Lehman Brothers paint an ominous picture for UBS, whose investors are now bracing themselves for more write-downs from the Swiss banking giant. [WSJ]
• Denis Bovin and Mike Urfirer, two top Bear Stearns bankers, are opening their own advisory boutique. [Street]

MEDIA
• Time Warner says that it would consider buying NBC Universal if General Electric ever put the Peacock Network up for sale. Thanks for the FYI. [Reuters]
• The Wall Street Journal's new glossy magazine, WSJ, is shaping up for its September 6 distribution. "What we're always intently trying to do is transport the DNA of the Journal into the magazine," editor-in-chief Tina Gaudoin said. "Since I've come on, obviously I've learned much, much more about the Journal, the reporters, how it looks, how it feels. Now I can see it physically coming to life." [Ad Age]
• Sporting News, formerly the authoritative source of information for serious sports fans, is trying to restore its greatness by offering a daily e-mail blast that will deliver scores and stats to subscribers' in-boxes. [NYT]

REAL ESTATE
• Doctors at Brooklyn's Long Island College hospital, which is part of the Continuum Health Partners system that runs Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, say they are being squeezed out so their parent company can sell off property. [NYT]
• A former concrete plant in the Bronx will be revamped into an urban oasis following a $10 million cleanup. [NYP]
• McDonald's finds itself Philippe Starck–iffied. [Curbed]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 10 Jun 2008 | 5:05 pm

Tory Burch Goes Hipster?

Tory Burch, meet hipsters. Hipsters, meet Tory Burch. It sounds like the recent CFDA award winner hopes to expand her clientele to include more of the L-train demographic. Nylon reports she's hired Surface 2 Air as creative consultants:

The Paris-based label with fans in the art, hip-hop, and scenester world is moving into Tory's studio, with creative director offering himself to Tory as a downtown "guru" for the brand.

We'd think Burch would understand some of downtown pretty well since her store's in Nolita, but nonetheless this is an exciting development! We never pegged her as edgy, but she must be more versatile than we thought. Surface 2 Air has previously done illustrations for Marc Jacobs's spring 2007 collection. Images on their own T-shirt line include skulls and tigers. Realistically, we can see them coming up with some fabric illustrations for Burch, like they did for Jacobs. But in our wildest fantasies, she'll ditch the preps and deck out mussy-haired models in jungle print and Arden Wohl–style head wraps. Williamsburg would be all over that.

SURFACE 2 TORY [Nylon]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 10 Jun 2008 | 4:45 pm

Friends to scatter YSL ashes in Morocco on Wednesday (AFP)

AFP - The ashes of the iconic French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent will be scattered by friends in the garden of his Marrakesh villa on Wednesday, it was announced Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 10 Jun 2008 | 4:22 pm

Stars' Bizarre Beauty Treatments

Demi Moore and other stars have tried leeches and venom for beauty. Would you?
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 3:03 pm

New Shoes Mold to Your Changing Needs

New shoes, some say, can transform your life. It's not so easy to transform the shoes. But a few designers are trying. They're offering shoes that can change -- from high heel to low heel, from one size to a bigger size, from one outer skin to another -- for better fashion, comfort or fit. It's only a tiny trend in the $45-billion-a-year U.S. footwear market, but it's notable that shoe engineers are trying to alter an aspect of human apparel unchanged for centuries. "More technology is being applied to shoes than has ever happened before," says shoe historian Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Adjustable heels. Camileon Heels developed a new kind of shoe last, or form, that allows the heel to go from 3¼ to 1½ inches. Pull down on the heel, push it forward and tuck it under the arch of the shoe. "This shoe is not intuitive. We had to inform and educate the consumer," says Camileon CEO Lauren Handel, whose brother, David, got the idea for the design...
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 2:54 pm

Wino: Slur-Filled Song Isn't Racist

Amy Winehouse denied she's racist despite a new video of her singing slurs.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 2:50 pm

Hits vs. Misses: TV's Best, Worst Spin-Offs

While ratings drop, networks turn to tried-and-true spin-offs for success.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 2:28 pm

The new movie to make you swoon and shriek

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Jun 2008 | 1:24 pm

'Idol' Runner-Up David Archuleta Gets Record Deal

The 17-year-old "Idol" runner-up has signed a deal with 19 Recordings/Jive Records.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Jun 2008 | 1:16 pm