Leticia James: Fighting for the Flea.Photo: Newscom

Photo: istockphoto

Photo: Getty Images

Photo: Imaxtree

Photo: Justin Stephens

2. Swizz Beatz, "That Oprah (Viva la Vida Freestyle)"
Famous producer (and non-famous rapper) Swizz Beatz uses Coldplay's hit about crumbled kingdoms to spit about our new monarchs, like Michael Jordan, Kanye, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and, of course, "that Oprah." [Mixtape Maestro]

3. Mike Patton feat. the Metropole Orchestra "Che Notte"
Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) has an album of mid-century Italian pop songs coming out, from which this new track is taken. We wish we knew what this song was about, but we speak neither Italian nor crazy well enough to make out the lyrics. [Sheena Beaston]

4. The Anals, "Commando of Love"
French group the Anals don't do anything half-assed, as is apparent when they sneak in a backdoor Sabbath riff onto a slamming low-end on this song about the French Resistance. [Friction NYC]

5. One Day As a Lion, "Wild International"
Get your Che T-shirts out of the hamper and put on your camo trucker hats, because Zack de al Rocha has teamed up with Mars Volta's Jon Theodore to "raid airwaves" with rap-rock acrimony once again. [Pasta Primavera] —Ehren Gresehover

Skin-Munching Fish Make Feet Silky Smooth

The YSL bob.Photo: Getty Images

HAIR
• Anna Wintour's bob is dated and Posh's bob (the "Pob") is out, so if you want a trendy bob, get the one models sported on the Yves Saint Laurent runway. Seeing is out. [Independent]

FRAGRANCE
• Bond No. 9's latest addition to the Andy Warhol collection will be called Lexington Avenue, named after one of Warhol's first New York City apartments. The $135 bottle, decorated in colorful, high-heeled shoes, will launch next month, on what would've been Warhol's 80th birthday. [WWD]

MAKEUP
• Givenchy created a limited-edition pocket watch that contains a tint called Sweet Dandy, which can be used on lips, cheeks, or face. We want. [British Vogue]

• Sephora came out with a $28 Lash Stash box, a pack of seven tester-size mascaras. Benefit's A Little Bit BADgal is in there, as well as Stila's Multi-Effect mascara. Sample, mix and match, whatever. [Pursebuzz]

• Here are nine beauty products you can use for both summer and fall. Ugh, do we have to think about fall already? [NYT]

NAILS
• Rescue Beauty Lounge released three pre-fall pastel colors inspired by the sea: Bikini Bottom (a muted blue), Square Pants (a pastel yellow), and Starfish Patrick (a coral orange). The sea? Or SpongeBob SquarePants? [Makeup Divas]

The Batman Box-Office Legend Grows

The Jonas Brothers Want to Dress You!

John McCain Could Write an Op-ed for the ‘Times’; He Just Doesn't Want To

Photo: Getty Images

To that end, the article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq. It would also have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory — with troops levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate.

WHAT! THAT IS AN OUTRAGE! McCain's people then ceased discussions with the Times. Apparently it was the word "timetable" that really ticked them off — they automatically in their minds turned it into "timetable for withdrawal" as opposed to just, you know, what are you going to do and when, or like a thesis followed by an argument. Semantics, we suppose. But understandable! Who can blame them? They were after all dealing with the LIBERAL MEDIA and you know how they try to trick you. And for that matter, what's the deal with Shipley using the word "cooperate"? What kind of LIBERAL PANSY NONSENSE is that?

Compel, however. That's a word the McCain campaign can get behind. Yeah. Now what were we talking about again?

NYT wanted "timetables" in McCain op-ed [Politico]
Related: McCain Opinion Article Rejected By New York Times [NYT]

Joss Whedon on ‘Dr. Horrible,’ Stephen Sondheim, and Bad Horse

Photo: Getty Images, drhorrible.com

Over the weekend, the third and final act of Joss Whedon's awesome online TV show, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, appeared and then disappeared. (It's still available on iTunes, and will soon be released on DVD.) Devoted fans watched the once-lighthearted series take a turn into decidedly Sweeney Todd–ish territory — and also got to see the head of the Evil League of Evil in all his hilarious equine magnificence. Vulture talked to Whedon about his DIY side project — which starred Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion — this afternoon.

So now that Dr. Horrible has aired in full, was there anything you cut? Was there was ever intended to be a song for Penny in the third act, or for Moist?
Oh no, we built it very tightly. Apart from a couple of lines for Neil that I had overwritten and that we trimmed, it pretty much stayed intact, structurally. There was never a Moist song, but God knows we've talked about one. And my biggest regret is that we didn't get to have another Penny and Billy duet. When they sang together, it made my heart go ping.

What triggered the project during the writers' strike?
From the beginning, I was in meetings with companies to make deals to create stuff for the Internet, in a cheaper fashion — but still on a grander scale than Dr. Horrible — but nothing was going. Nothing was going! So I did something I should've done a long time before — I took matters into my own hands. And now I've finally struck the first blow for writers in the strike! Hey, where did everybody go? We thought of a slow release, little hints — leave a trail of bread crumbs at Comic-Con. And we were like, "No, we're just going to show it. For free."

What were your influences? As usual, we heard some Sondheim, a little Sweeney.
A little bit. A little bit of the old Sondy. [Whedon's brother] Jed has been in a band for years. Apart from Sondheim, our influences are probably pretty different. We're eleven years apart. And I'm a nerd. He's a rock star. So he knows contemporary stuff way better. Plus, he can play his instruments, the fucker. I fall back on all the old stuff, by which I mean the seventies stuff: The Phantom of the Paradise. It's very sort of seventies ballad-y.

Our husband said it reminded him of the book Soon I Will Be Invincible. Have you read that?
I haven't, but I've heard the title, and honestly, I think the title was an influence. The Specials, too, has to be given a nod. Because it's still the best script about lame superheroes ever written.

What were your favorite bits?
You know, you can't really argue with "the hammer is my penis." You can't really be angry that that happened. Also, I'm just going to go ahead and say … the horse.

So simple. Yet so satisfying.
There's so much speculation about Bad Horse. Actually, the costumer who read it threw out some Bad Horse costume ideas. I was like, Ah, okay. It's a horse.

Which bits didn't live up to what you wanted? Or didn't work?
There were a couple of jokes that don't really get laughs. I'm proud to say I wrote both of them.

Name one.
"Is that the new catchphrase?" It's a little throwaway thing that I wish I had thrown away. But you know what, it has the purity of being … well, pure, for one thing. Not having a ton of compromise involved. It's as if our ids wrote a musical.
—Emily Nussbaum

Earlier: Joss Whedon’s ‘Dr. Horrible’ Totally Adorable

Kind Replaces Phillips in Casa Mañana's 'Damn Yankees' (Playbill)

little-known facts about bullfighters

The idea of "being with the band" may conjure late nights, crowded quarters, and constant travel, but photographer Livia Corona's experiences on the road owe little to traditional lore. Her companions? The Enanitos Toreros, troupes of little-people bullfighters, with whom she trekked for eight years across Mexico and the U.S. while still an art student. "Like most people, I did not know anything about dwarfism," the New York and Mexico City-based Corona explains in the intro to her new coffee-table book of photos and interviews from that era, "Enanitos Toreros" (powerHouse). "The issue had rarely come up in my life, and when it did it was usually presented for comic effect." Though Corona’s shots aren't devoid of levity, they also stand in marked contrast to stereotypical caricature, imbuing her subjects with a refreshing degree of normalcy. "I hope to share a perspective on the relativity of scale and appearance," she notes. Expect to see eye to eye with her on this one.

Nigel Barker Talks Baby Seals, ‘ANTM,’ and His Kids

Ice master and seal champion Nigel Barker.Photo: Nigel Barker

Display of seal knowledge No. 1: "Beater" seals aren't as beautiful as white seals, but they're just as lovable.

One of the big things actual sealers and pro-seal hunt people say is that the pictures of the beautiful white coats are misleading … because they fall off and become these things called "ragged jackets." Ironically, they are called "beaters" because the seals can't swim and are just beating around. At that age, when seals are 12 days old, people can legally hunt them. My point was, yes, they are not beautiful little white coated seals, but they are still very beautiful and they are still babies, and I went up there to photograph them at that [beater] stage as well. And the exhibit shows all stages of their life in that short two weeks prior to their deaths.

Display of seal knowledge No. 2: This isn't about fame. It's about stopping the Canadians.

Hopefully it'll really move people to see that I didn't do this for the limelight, that I'm really putting a lot of time and effort in this … We had an exhibit of my photographs in the House of Commons in London, and the European Union is considering banning all seal products … Norway owns 90% of all seal-processing plants in Canada, and if the demand goes down, then the supply [has no nowhere to go]. If we can't stop the Canadians, we can try to stop the Norwegians.

Display of seal knowledge No. 3: The seal hunt is really cruel.

We took doctors, vets, to look at the actual skulls of the seals and they determined the skulls didn't even have enough damage to them to guarantee the seals were dead when their skins are removed. We came up with a percentage like 42% of all seals are alive when they are skinned.

But really, Barker's working for the kids. Namely, his.

As a father of one and one on the way, I want to do what I can for the planet so my son can say, "Hey my dad made a difference and I can make a difference, too." If we all act more responsibly, then we can make this a place worth living in.

Random gear shift: Barker didn't really get the meatpacking-plant challenge on America's Next Top Model either.

You know, I'm not party to the creative process, as far as what they decide to do. And when I saw that, I did think it was pretty weird.

Nigel Barker, Photographer [Gothamist]

Related: Nigel Barker’s Pun-tastic Baby-Seal Photography Exhibit

Robot Apocalypse Update: Robotic Gamelan Descends on Chelsea Art Museum

Photo: Everett Bogue

In the aftermath of the performance, as the remnants of the human race stood about in shock and awe, we managed to ask Taylor the one question that must have been on everyone's robot-fearing mind: How do you feel about contributing to the obsolescence of the humanity? "Well, I don't know if that's really the intention. In fact, I think humans could do better. I could do better." Sadly, though, we doubt he could play a gong that well. —Everett Bogue

High-School Musical: When Your Drama Teachers Go to School

Top, from left, Mitch Master, Maureen Sweeney. Bottom, from left, Hilde Harper, Sheryl Amirault, Tom Smith.

Mitch Master, Frankling Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield, Michigan:

This is your third year at the program. What keeps you coming back?
Kate Grant from Juilliard teaches me mirror games and scene work.
Do your kids think acting exercises are cheesy?
A lot do. I tell them this is what Tom Cruise and Robert De Niro do. That seriouses them up.
What's the best thing you staged last year?
I did Taming of the Shrew with a twist, a Ferris Bueller's Day Off opening to it. Then we added snippets of Billy Joel and the Beatles songs.

Did the Shakespeare purists protest?
I don't have too many of those at my school.
What's your dream production?
I'm dying to do The Producers, but I don't know if my school would love the whole Nazi side. I have a rabbi who looks over my scripts. I just did Brighton Beach Memoirs. Most of the masturbation scene went.

Maureen Sweeney, Highlands, New Jersey:

What was the hardest thing you staged this year?
An eighth-grade Willie Wonka. There were a lot of special effects in there. The chocolate machine was a little hard.
How do you get boys to do theater?
Um. Bribe them? [Laughs] I tell them it's a fun time and it looks good on your college application. But once I get them hooked, they don't leave.
Your dream production?
Wicked. I think Legally Blonde would be adorable, too.
Are you an actor?
I wanted to be. I was in a commercial. I'm SAG-eligible. But I took a different path. I have three children.

Hilde Harper, Toms River, New Jersey:

This is your eighth year at this program. Why?
The same reason people keep going to Mecca and Lourdes. Or sticking a needle in your arm. It feels really good here!
What's the key to getting boys to do plays?
Don't dress them up in something and make them sing something that makes them feel odd. You have to pick a show that opens up a whole new set of neural pathways for them. Theater is very addictive.
Is your drama club a de facto gay support group?
Yes. The kids now are so out they're in. I have more boyfriends come to rehearsals than I have different-sex partners.
Your dream production?
Probably Ragtime. It's historical. You bring in a whole lot of kids.
Did you want to be on Broadway?
Of course, doesn't everybody? But I'm better backstage. I'm a detail person.

Sheryl Amirault, various schools, Ontario, Canada:

What's the key to crashing a school and mounting a show?
I try to direct the same show through the different schools.
What was it last year?
I did High School Musical at a couple of the schools. That's an easy mount because it's present-day.
Is Canada more supportive of theater in schools than the U.S.?
There have been major government cutbacks in the arts. That's why I'm brought in, because the parents want me there. They pay a huge chunk of it.
Is there a Great Canadian Musical?
I can't think of one. It's probably not very good if there is one.

Tom Smith, Easthampton, Massachusetts:

Is your school pro-theater?
No. My job was created because a group evaluated the school about twelve years ago and said it needed a better arts program.
Is theater a cool thing in your school?
We affect a quarter of the student body, either in the shows or working on the musical in shop, art, or set-design class.
What have you gotten out of this program?
Last year there was a fight (stage-combat) class. Last year when we did Kiss Me Kate, with several slaps, I used their system instead of the old-fashioned way, which was just — slap. It was too hard to fake them. A few years ago we did Applause, which is based on All About Eve.
Hm. Is your drama club the de facto gay support group?
To a great extent. The kids do a drag show that's been going on for eight years.
Really? Does anybody have a problem with that?
I haven't heard about it. I keep waiting.
What's your dream production?
The Producers. The first spoken line is an F-bomb, so chances are that's going to get cut. We'll substitute something. Shtup.

—Tim Murphy

What — or Who — Pooped in the Prospect Park Sandbox?

Broadway-Flushing: Folks in this Queens nabe are going door-to-door collecting signatures to convince city honchos to landmark their district filled with "1,300 Tudor, Colonial and Arts-and-Crafts gems." We feel bougie admitting it, but those words make our mouths water! [NYDN]
Bushwick: We have to admit we're fascinated by this bizarre, tense, testy video taken by some strangely accented, war-painted duo who crashed a barbecue held by the activist group Make the Road by Walking. [BushwickBK]
Downtown Brooklyn: Among vehicles, there is a Dangerfieldian lack of respect for the stretch of bike lane on Adams Street between Willoughby and Tillary, and that is just a shame. [Brownstoner]
Prospect Park: A poop was found in the Lefferts Playground sandbox, and “upon closer inspection … there was more poop found hidden in the sand." Whatdoneit? Or WHO? [Hawthorned Street]

East Harlem: A pro boxer billed "The Pride of Spanish Harlem" and eleven others were arrested Friday for being involved in an international coke ring. [Uptown Flavor]
East Village: The blog Lux Living, sort of like a version of The Onion devoted to mocking the new corporate ownership of Stuy Town, gets its inevitable profile (completely with anonymous author) in the Times' Sunday "City" section, where Stuy Town brass reveal they didn't think it was very funny when the blog wrote that toxins unearthed during a landscaping job had given residents cancer. [NYT via Curbed]
West Village: Jackson Square Park, on Eighth Avenue just below 14th Street, has been spruced up enough to now be an appropriate backdrop for a commercial for a Lay's product. [Vanishing NY]
Williamsburg: Look at the scruffles (we're tired of "hipsters") hanging out in the middle of Bedford Avenue as part of a new program that blocks out cars on Saturdays through August. One of those scruffles is actually lying down reading in the middle of the road! Crazy! [Streetfilms]

Sorry, Courtney: Ryan Adams’s ‘Rock N Roll’ Not One of History's Worst Albums

Photo: Getty Images

But one thing in particular stuck in our craw, the fact that in the middle of this embarrassing-for-all-parties imbroglio hangs the reputation of an innocent bystander (no, not Frances Bean; she’s long since been publicly insulated from her mother’s nuttiness): Adams's brutally maligned Rock N Roll, an album Love calls “shite,” “self admitedly shit,” with “shit wirtten songs”? Far be it from us to cast aspersions on the soundness of her judgment, but is it really “one of the worst albums… in rock-n-roll history”?

Before we go any further, we should note that, of course, it’s entirely possible (and probably likely) that Adams didn’t actually steal money from Love — for all we know he scratched it together ghostwriting airport romance novels or something. But that’s not really the issue. The issue is this: We happen to really like Rock N Roll! Sure, it was totally derivative and overproduced to within an inch of its life — it was basically Ryan’s attempt to hang with early 00’s cool kids like Interpol and the Strokes — but it was also totally satisfying, with slick distortion, petulant sneering, and hilarious overenunciation of stock rock phrases (“You’re taking me high-yaaa”; “I’m on your siiiide”) that gives Liam Gallagher a run for his money. Not a landmark, especially when judged against Adams’s dozens of other excellent albums, but honestly, it's a lot of fun. And assuming Love hasn’t completely squandered all of her Nirvana royalties, we think Frances Bean will be okay without that 858,00$. —Amos Barshad

Courtney Love: Ryan Adams Stole $858k From Frances Bean [Stereogum]

Balthazar Getty Admits to Singlehood (E! Online)

E! Online - Sienna Millerapparently has a thing for sorta single dads.

striping it rich, then and now

Stranger than a pink, zebra-striped horse to us was the fact that the first thing we thought of when we came across this Juicy Couture ad in Teen Vogue was the striped legs at Givenchy for Spring 2007. Clearly, we need to get out more.

Olmert Rabbi Might Be Less Threatening Than We Thought

Photo: Getty Images

Talansky has long maintained his innocence. “There were two people at the site of the incident who have given sworn affidavits that Morris Talansky never laid a hand on the dentist,” said a spokesman.

In an interview, Barashick talked repeatedly about the Battle of the Bulge (in which he said he'd participated), his desire to write his memoirs, and his unerring memory. About the alleged assault, he said, “I almost had to have my legs amputated. I was in the hospital two weeks.” Nassau County Police Lieutenant Kevin Smith offered a different version of events: “The dentist went on his own to the hospital several hours after the incident,” said Smith. “He was treated for contusions and didn’t check in.”

Talansky, who testified in May that he delivered envelopes of cash to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, faces a fifth day of cross-examination in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Attorneys for Olmert have portrayed Talansky as an elderly man with an unreliable memory who was pressured by Israeli police.

Talansky has acknowledged that he was “agitated” and disturbed by more than twenty hours of sometimes shouted, sometimes leading questions by police interrogators. He maintains that the $150,000 he gave to Olmert over fifteen years before he was prime minister helped finance political campaigns and personal expenses, and was not a bribe. —Steve Fishman

Related: Secret Tapes Show That L.I. Rabbi Who May Topple Olmert Has a Threatening History

Artist Pamela Pecchio Knows Which Way Is Up

Pamela Pecchio’s Inverted Compass (2008)Courtesy of Daniel Cooney Fine Art

What do you hang above your bed? Some people scatter pretty, colored glow-in-the-dark stars and moons that make them feel as though they are sleeping in a Roald Dahl novel. Others, like a friend of photographer Pamela Pecchio, hang wobbly compasses above their beds, the directions pointing all askew. Pecchio’s photograph, up at Daniel Cooney Fine Art through July 31, is more soothing than your average night-light, but we’d hate to be staring up at it after a night of drinking. —Emma Pearse

Newest Yohji Yamamoto Line ‘Coming Soon’ Just Arrived at Odin

Pieces from Coming SoonPhoto: Milo Keller for Coming Soon

Batman Can't Stop 'Mamma Mia!'

Leno's last 'Tonight' announced

where you gonna go? ibiza!

Though there may be newer locales to explore (we hear Lisbon's heating up), few holiday destinations can match the glamour of Ibiza, as evidenced by our recent photo foray there. As we were out and about this weekend, here's who we learned is making a beeline for the island this summer: Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Marc Jacobs (he's apparently snagged a gorgeous casa), the photography team of Mert and Marcus, and Vogue stylist Edward Enninful. Just in case you were looking for more reasons to blow the budget.

Ebert and Roeper Leaving ‘Ebert & Roeper’

Photo: Getty Images

What "new direction" did Disney want to take the show? Thumbs-ups only for Disney movies? Pixar-animated Siskel and Ebert? Guest spots for the Jonas Brothers? Who knows! We do know, though, that both Ebert and Roeper say they'll be back, and they're bringing their thumbs with them:

We made television history, and established the trademarked catch-phrase "Two thumbs up." The trademark still belongs to me and Marlene Iglitzen, Gene's widow, and the thumbs will return. We are discussing possibilities, and plan to continue the show's tradition.

You hear that, Disney? Hands off the thumbs!

Statement from Roger Ebert [RogerEbert.com]
Ebert and Roeper leaving popular movie review show [AP]

Go to China With ‘Times’ Reporter Allen Salkin!

Stalkin' Salkin.Photo: newscom

A sporadic personal newsletter, Salkin Stories is kind of like one of those embarrassingly unselfconscious "here's what everyone's up to" newsletters that families send out at Christmas — except it's all about one guy, and it goes out to a lot of people, many who don't actually know Salkin.

The most recent epistle contains links to the Times reporter's most recent Times stories, solicits sources for his friend Charles Duhigg as well as ukulele players (a trend piece in the works? We'll look for it!), and invites readers to join Salkin on upcoming expeditions to Williamsburg's Fette Sau ("I will be arriving around 6pm and would like you there not long after that") and — thrillingly — Beijing, where one is invited to attend Olympic events with and bunk down with the Salkmeister himself. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he stresses.

Indeed. Which is why we've decided to make sure that you, dear readers, get a chance to board the Salkin train before it pulls out of the station. But you'd better act fast, and be on your best behavior! "I may get a lot of responses," Allen writes. "So I will put together the most compatible group I can."

From: Allen Salkin [redacted] Date: July 17, 2008 12:52:41 PM EDT To: allen salkinsstories Subject: [salkinsstories] Must Read – Join me cheaply at the Beijing Olympics? (and a BBQ outing and more news) Reply-To: salkinsstories-owner@yahoogroups.com

Fellow Olympians,

In addition to notifying you that free lodging and face value tickets are available for 1 to 4 people to join me at the Beijing Games, I am also writing to let you know about a BBQ outing July 29th in Brooklyn, an article I wrote for the new HEEB magazine about a fascinating murder that happened in my high school, a plea for story help from a fellow reporter, and a link to some other recent stories, including one on The Who!!! Onward!

1/ Olympics. Due to job and family responsibilities, the folks who were to join me in Beijing for the Olympics can not come. What this means is I have face-value tickets to numerous events and a FREE PLACE TO STAY for a few people. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All you have to do is get yourself to Beijing. This will be my 7th Olympics and I have done all the hard work of ordering tickets nearly two years in advance and securing a place to stay. I did an apartment swap for my place in New York, so I have a place for free in Beijing.

What I am looking for are one to four people who are interested in coming the days of August 15th through the 23rd. There is some flexibility on either side of that. I have two to four extra tickets for events during that period for events including Track and Field, Diving, Boxing, Soccer, Weightlifting, Volleyball and Archery. It is also likely that there will be some surplus tickets for other events available through official outlets inBeijing during the Games. You would pay me face value for the tickets I have, which for one person to attend 10 different events would come to about $275 total.

This is all happening in less than a month. Please write me back as soon as possible if you are interested. I may get a lot of responses, so I will put together the most compatible group I can. At this time, I am not interested in selling any of the tickets individually. I would rather have some friends along with me to enjoy this experience. So get onto Orbitz and see if you can make it work for you! (There are fares from New York for about $1,600 roundtrip, LA for about $1,200, and you can also consider Cathay Pacific’s All-Asia pass which allows you to fly to Asia and then to as many Asian cities as you can handle in a month for less than $2,000). Do I need to repeat what a spectacular opportunity this is?

==

2/ BBQ Outing July 29. Come!

Closer to home, it’s time to continue the tour of NYC BBQ joints, this time with a trip to the much lauded Fette Sau in Williamsburg. Deal is there are outdoor picnic tables which fill up tres fast, so we need to get there early. I will be arriving around 6pm and would like you there not long after that (but if you want to come and maybe have to sit elsewhere, can come til 7). Let me know asap if you can come, so I can get a head count. We had about 15 people last time (at RUB) and it was great (although Hill Country’s Q was much better, meat-taste-wise). Extremely delicious beer is also sold.

Fette Sau

L – train to Lorimer Street.

354 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: (718) 963-3404

Allen’s cell: [redacted]

http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/45085648/brooklyn_ny/fette_sau.html

==

3/ See HEEB magazine’s summer issue for more than just the pull-out swimsuit calendar featuring hot Jewish models (one wielding a metal detector on the beach, the other with a fishing pole that has snagged a lox.) Pick up an issue to read my article “Trouble at the Rosenkrantz Ranch,” about an infamous 1985 murder at Calabasas High School. A short preview is available here: http://www.heebmagazine.com/articles/view/146 (and note the comment, likely written by the subject of the piece, I think.)

==

4/ I have an article in today’s Arts section of the NY Times about The Who. For those who have known me for a long time, you can imagine what an uber thrill it was for me to interview Messrs Daltrey and Townshend. The Daltrey interview was done in the back of an SUV as we drove from a rehearsal space in Burbank to a doctor in Beverly Hills. Like everybody else smart, Daltrey has an aversion to over-antibioticking, but was finally going to take a course of ‘em to be in shape for the VH1 show which taped Saturday and is airing tonight (July 17). He also said the Keith Moon movie is on hold until he gets a script he likes. He is a fan of Arsenal. Read todays story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/arts/music/17daltrey.html?ex=1374033600&en=68f31b850ecf57fe&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

And read other recent stories, including screeds on Montauk, Christie Brinkley, Lance Armstrong, and, tangentially, Grey Gardens, here: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/allen_salkin/index.html?inline=nyt-per

==

5/ Any Ukulele players out there? Write me: [redacted]

==

6/ My colleague Charles Duhigg is working on a story and sends out the following plea for help:

Hi,

I’m a writer with the New York Times, working on a project about personal transformative change.

I’m examining how change occurs, and I’m hoping to find stories of people who have transformed their lives. People who, after years of bad habits or unhealthy lifestyles, found ways to change their daily routines. Or, stories of people who had healthy habits, but still found ways to make small but meaningful changes that had profound implications in their lives.

For instance, I’m hoping to find people who have lost significant amounts of weight after years of unhealthy lifestyles, or who dramatically transformed their careers, or who found professional or personal success after struggling for years. I’m particularly interested in finding dramatic stories that give readers insight into how these changes occurred and that explain what techniques or rules people used to make their changes sustainable.

Finally, I’m also hoping to find stories that have not already been covered by the media.

If you are someone who has changed your life, or you know someone who has changed their life, I would really enjoy hearing from you and learning a little bit about your transformation. You don’t have to live in New York .

Please contact me at [redacted]@nytimes.com. And, please feel free to put “Change Project” in the subject line, so your email will evade our spam filters.

Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you,

Charles Duhigg

==

Be well!

Allen

We took out his e-mail and phone number because we felt guilty and also because our lawyers would probably be pissed if we left them in. But if you really want to go to China with Allen … well, where there's a will, there's a way. Now be well!

Related: AllenSalkin.com

Lindsay Lohan’s Leggings Are Already Sold Out!

Lindsay LohanPhoto: Getty Images

She also suggested that of all the celebrity lines launched in the store, including Lauren Conrad's and Mandy Moore's, 6126 received the best response. But will Lindsay be able to sustain her line's popularity, unlike Lauren Conrad? Bring on the in-store leggings signings.

Lindsay's Leggings Already Off the Rack! [E!]
Related: The Leggings LiLo Designed Are Now on Sale!

Leaked: Conor Oberst Grows Up Right This Time

Courtesy of Merge

Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst

Official Release Date: August 5

The Verdict: When it was announced that, for his latest album, Oberst would be ditching the Bright Eyes moniker — the one under which he's released his last ten records — it wasn't immediately clear why. Now it is, though. Last year's Cassadaga stripped back the vocal tics, false starts, and charmingly overreaching ambition for a political album that sounded polished but wasn't all that memorable. Conor Oberst feels no less grown-up, but the songs are looser, catchier, and more fun, even if they are all introspective, death-obsessed folk-rock ballads. (Highlights: "Sausalito" walks an excellent line between Tom Petty and the Grateful Dead, and "Danny Callahan" manages to be a good time, despite its being about fatal cancer.) Hey, if we could make an album this great, we'd probably want to put our own name on it too.

Music Review: Paul Weller's ambitious '22 Dreams' (AP)

AP - Paul Weller, "22 Dreams" (Yep Roc)

Ebert and Roeper leaving 'Ebert & Roeper'

How Aguilera's producer hit the skids

Thank Heavens: Mike Lupica Found a Seat at the All-Star Game

"I enjoy box seats, yelling, daisies ..."Photo: Getty Images

Well, no. In his Sunday column, Lupica basically confirmed that like the rest of us, he was just trying to sneak down to better seats. Surely aware of the Deadspin story, he writes, without a hint of shame, “I ended up sitting in the stands for the last half of it, stayed to the end, and had as much fun watching it play out as I’ve had watching any All-Star Game in any sport.” See, when you finish your column in the third inning, why should you stay in the boring ol’ press box? And if a security guard has the audacity to question you, why shouldn’t you let him have it? He’s Mike Lupica, dammit! Sadly, he doesn’t mention precisely where he watched the game from the stands, so we’ll never know if he made it to the field level, but we doubt he’d have settled for anything worse than loge. (He’s not an animal, after all.) We’ll give him credit for this, though: Unlike some people, at least he stays till the end. —Joe DeLessio

Brett Favre showing good goodbyes are rare in sports [NYDN]

Zack Snyder Promises ‘Watchmen’ Fans Lots of Action-y Things and Probably Some Fight Things

Photo: Getty Images

"A long song can be as effective as a short one. Look at 'Like a Rolling Stone,' which is like a week long." —James McMurtry [LAT]

"It's funny, people's attitude toward sex is so loaded — if you play a murderer, it's rare that somebody will say, 'What does your wife think?'" —David Duchovny on playing a sex fiend in Californication [NYDN]

"I do get tired of the Champagne out of women's shoes 'cause it wrecks the Champagne, who are we kidding? You're drinking out of a smelly shoe and I don't know how many bottles of Dom I've ruined. And every time I tell myself, 'Remember, tonight drink it out of just a glass, enjoy it.' Then I get caught up in the moment and I find myself drinking out of a woman's shoe." —Will Ferrell [NYDN]

"We didn't feel there was a sitcom written about people on the fringes of society, rather than the good looking, wine bar patronizing, white teeth freaks on sitcoms." —Simon Pegg on the origins of Spaced [NYP]

"I think that getting fat was my fortune, really … I said funny things, but I was too unfeasibly handsome (in my youth). They'd go, 'I want to laugh, but I feel funny all over.' Whereas, as I started eating, they started laughing." —Ricky Gervais [Female First]

The Meeting With Anna Wintour That Inspired ‘Stylista’

Anne Slowey and Anna WintourPhoto: Getty Images

The 33-year-old Holzman explained to a Cut spy in Los Angeles that he took a meeting with Wintour to discuss a Vogue partnership with Project Runway as that show was just getting off the ground. Back then, however, he "didn't know anything about fashion." "I remember I was going to have breakfast with Anna Wintour. I went to Vogue dressed the same way I dress all of the time — sneakers, whatever."

And then he met the queen of fashion. "When Anna walked out on the floor at Vogue, you could cut the tension with a knife. I could just feel it and I thought, Wait a minute, there's a great TV show here." Even though Vogue didn't sign on to Runway, Holzman said the meeting was great and Anna was "lovely." "The thing is, Vogue is so conscious of being Vogue and what is cool and not cool," he explains. "What's amazing about Elle is that they're confident enough to say, 'Hey, we're Elle, we think we have pretty good taste and we're not ashamed if you don't think we're the coolest people.'"

That's not to say Elle editors are pushovers: Early footage of Stylista reveals Slowey as a demonic cross between Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestley and Cruella DeVille. "People are already inclined to think of it as somewhat fake, but Anne has a bullhorn at her desk that her assistant got her, because she was tired of her losing her voice from yelling at her," Holzman reveals. And thus, a Stylista star was born.

And that breakfast challenge we all saw on YouTube? You can thank that breakfast meeting at Vogue. "When I had breakfast with Anna, the fruit plate was exquisite, with perfectly arranged star fruit. Someone was demonstrating their taste. You knew that you weren't meeting just anybody right now. Thanks to some assistant." Or, you know, caterers. —Matt Sullivan

Related: Why We're Embarrassed for ‘Elle,’ Anne Slowey, and ‘Stylista’
‘Elle’ Staffer Already Embarrassed to Appear on ‘Stylista’

going gaga for lala

The Bebelplatz main tent, the site of most of Berlin fashion week's shows, was erected over the city's book-burning memorial. Designers who opted for off-site shows favored less historically loaded, raw industrial spaces. Yet gritty settings did not guarantee strong reactions. Instead, the sleeper hit of the season was Leyla Piedayesh's collection for Lala Berlin, which she staged informally at her boyfriend's Seven Star gallery. As models in slinky rock-chic knits posed in front of rare photographs of iconic film and rock stars, the designer explained why she decided to forgo a runway show. "There was something more important happening in my life besides fashion—I became a mother three months ago." So while some Berlin designers focused on off-setting the city's past and others keyed in on its pulsating party energy, Piedayesh looked to the future, as embodied in her infant daughter, who attended the presentation in a snuggly mint green Lala Berlin sweater.

Dennis Wilson's "Pacific Ocean Blue" Resurfaces

A new reissue of the Beach Boys drummer's late-'70s album serves as a reminder of Wilson's talent and torment Hours before an early 1970s Beach Boys concert, the band?s musical director Jim Guercio remembers drummer Dennis Wilson fooling around on the piano during soundcheck. "I heard these amazing changes and I said, 'Dennis, is that one of Brian's songs?' " Guercio says. "He said, 'No, It's one of mine.' " By 1977 — just six years before he died — the Beach Boys' drummer had released Pacific Ocean Blue, a stunning, painful solo album that's widely considered the best Beach Boys project...

The Heartbroken Summer U.N. Intern

Once a week, Daily Intel takes a peek at what your friends and neighbors are doing behind doors left slightly ajar. Today, the Heartbroken Summer U.N. Intern: 20, female, heterosexual , Williamsburg.

DAY ONE
7:34 a.m.: My roommate leaves the apartment ridiculously early and wakes me up. I think of my now ex-boyfriend. Even though I'm basically having the ideal "living in the city" summer, any moment I sit, I get overcome by heart-wrenching … well, heartbreak. We broke up a month ago, just as the school year finished. I'm still hopelessly in love with him. I cry a little as I think about how he said my nickname and fight the urge to call him.
7:50 a.m.: Try to masturbate to make myself feel better. I can't get into it. This has been a common occurrence lately.
7:55 a.m.: Go back to sleep instead.
11 a.m.: Wake up to new text messages. One from my new bisexual friend whom I got drunk with last night, telling me that she just had the most amazing sex. Fuck. I hate living vicariously through people.

10:45 p.m.: At a party in the Upper West Side, calling a fling from last summer/boy I made out with last week, since he lives nearby. His friends want to come to where I am, except I don't think they'd fit in. He says I'm "totally welcome" to join them, except I realize I don't really care enough to make nice with strangers in their element. He says he'll call tomorrow.
11:15 p.m.: Mutual friend of Fling tells me he made out with this Angelina Jolie look-alike, whom I am acquainted with , in Chicago last week. Immediately feel angry but then reassure myself that I two-timed him last summer, so no big deal.
11:50 p.m.: Drunk off of a lot of Champagne and give in and call the ex-boyfriend for the first time in weeks. We have a long, great conversation where I tear up multiple times. Says he feels sad sometimes, and that his summer is lonely. He asks if this means he can call me now. I say yes.

DAY TWO
3 a.m.: Get stoned after the party and eat cheese and bread. Return to my bed and am horny after successful phone conversation and masturbate successfully.
10:15 p.m.: It occurs to me that Fling never called. Contemplate calling him, but I don't want to go that far uptown. He's too short for me, anyway.
11:45 p.m.: Smoke and watch Where the Heart Is. Roommates are either out or asleep, so I finish the movie alone. Get horny and have another stoned masturbating session, which is incredible • two successful attempts in the row. I am pretty much notorious for masturbating with other roommates in the room, on the d.l. of course, but that's not necessary tonight. Pass out on the couch.

DAY THREE
3:35 p.m.: At Brooklyn Flea and pass by blond guy who is walking alone (like me!) twice. He's cute, and I wish I had more guts to talk to strangers. Instead I hide behind my red heart-shaped Lolita sunglasses. Eat lots of mini-cupcakes to make myself feel better.
7:15 p.m.: Ex-boyfriend IMs me. He's dog-sitting alone. We talk and I fight the urge to tell him that when we speak, the breakup no longer makes sense. We're so natural around each other. I know it's too soon to say it, so I don't say anything about it.
7:49 p.m.: Sending him the funniest ads I find off of Craigslist casual encounters. I ask what NSA means; he Googles it and finds it out. No strings attached. I miss him.

DAY FOUR
10 a.m.: On my way to one of my internships in midtown. As I get off the L at Eighth Avenue, a man taps me on the shoulder. I almost die with excitement — am I cute? Is he going to ask for my number? No. Apparently there is a sticker on my tights that I forgot to take off.
6: p.m.: One of my gay friends from college is visiting the house. He pets me and asks how I'm doing, alluding to the ex. I mumble that I'm fine and immediately switch the subject.
10 p.m.: Find solace in marijuana, yet again. Pass out watching local news.

DAY FIVE
10:35 a.m.: Internship at the U.N., and yet again I am painfully late.
11:40 a.m.: Attend a conference on HIV/AIDS. I'm totally petrified to sleep with other people after hearing all these panel speakers. Do not look forward to resorting to condom usage again.
8:30 p.m.: Best guy friend comes over and he makes me dinner and we eat it on the roof. Mussels, clams, baked fish, and fresh arugula salad. We discuss our respective opposite-sex issues. He asks me if I'm ready to date/hook up with other people. I say probably not, but I wouldn't be opposed to randomly making out. I admit that I have no idea about how to go about it.
11 p.m.: Drunk with the rest of my housemates. A graduate from my college is there and I realize I am crushing on him. I get louder and more excitable and eventually embarrass myself by talking too loud and fast.
11:50 p.m.: Get high and settle into the couch and my surroundings. New Crush leaves and I think about what to write on his Facebook wall.

DAY SIX
1 p.m.: Meet the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. I am grossly underdressed and completely embarrassed.
6 p.m.: Eat dinner with my ex-ex-boyfriend, my great high-school love. It's fun and pleasant, and I admit to him that I'm completely still in love with my ex.
7 p.m.: We say good-bye. I tell him that it's so fun hanging out with him because it reminds me how I can still be friends with my exes, and eventually my ex-boyfriend and I will be like this too. He looks at me and laughs and says, "Well, we had a very different, special relationship. Most people aren't friends after breaking up."
7:05 p.m.: Remember how much I hated Ex-Ex's advice and outlook on life.

DAY SEVEN
10 p.m.: Getting drinks with my roommate and getting increasingly more and more drunk.
11:50 p.m.: A guy taps on my headband to spark a conversation. I'm so standoffish. Is this how people start conversations in the real world? By tapping my headband? Just buy me a fucking drink.
1 a.m.: Drunk. Drunk. Drunk. Happy that my fake I.D. and faux British accent is working me well.
2:50 a.m.: Pass out on the L and miss my stop. Have to wait twenty minutes for the next train back.
3:20 a.m.: Fall asleep in my underwear, with no one to keep me warm. Oh well, I've got all summer to rebound.

Totals: Zero acts of intercourse or oral sex; two acts of masturbation; four acts of marijuana usage; two acts of intoxication; two communications with ex-boyfriend.

Spelling Tells a Mommy sTori (E! Online)

E! Online - Despite the handful of reality shows, the magazine covers and her own cranking publicity machine, apparently there are some things we don't yet know about Tori Spelling.

Court Overturns Indecency Fine for ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’; Timberlake Sings About It on ESPN

Last night on the cavalcade of crappiness that is the ESPYs, Justin Timberlake performed a song about the legendary "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl. More important, this morning the Third Circuit overturned the $550,000 fine CBS paid the FCC for the incident, ruling that the network could not be held accountable for the actions of "independent contractors" Timberlake and Janet Jackson. The court added, however, that if the FCC wanted to fine ESPN for this lame song, that would be okay.

Nipplegate II: Justin Timberlake mocks Super Bowl 'wardrobe malfunction' at ESPYs [Daily Voice]
Court tosses FCC fine of CBS over Janet Jackson [Reuters]
CBS v. FCC Ruling (PDF) [uscourts.gov]

Lydia Hearst’s Fashion Promo Film Sounds a Lot Like Justin Timberlake’s

Lydia HearstPhoto: Getty Images

It’s a take on the ’50s noir movie Kiss Me Deadly, and I play a deranged actress being hounded by the paparazzi … I speed down Mulholland Drive in a 1948 Buick, pursued in a frantic chase by the “mad snappers,” but I am so delusional that I cannot figure out whether they are trying to help me or hurt me. Obviously, I am wearing clothes from Tara’s fall collection.

Now wait a minute. This reminds us of something … Justin Timberlake's movie for his clothing line William Rast! In that film, Timberlake is being chased by the police after committing some crime. So what's with all these running-away-from-something fashion promo films? Are they meant to convince us a certain label's clothes will help us escape our troubles? Don't get us wrong — we adore this outpouring of creativity, but if these are just exercises in escapism, well, they already invented alcohol for that.

Lydia Hearst's Chronicles [Page Six Magazine]

Related: How William Rast Execs Convinced Justin Timberlake to Star in the Campaign

in the swim in miami

With the seemingly never-ending and rapidly expanding Resort collections wrapping up last week and the Spring 2009 collections just around the corner, how could anyone deal with another fashion week, you ask? Well, that's exactly what those covering the swim market (or those looking for an excuse for a weekend in Miami) spent the last few days doing. Things got under way on Thursday night, with May Andersen opening the Diesel swim show. The following evening, Caroline Winberg flew into town for one night only to fête Ocean Drive magazine (she's on the cover) at its party on the roof of the Delano Hotel. "I was trying really hard to be sexy," she told us of the cover shoot, before revealing the rest of her summer plans: a tour of Europe and then a vacay in Costa Rica. Oh, to be a Swedish supermodel. Saturday night was swim's busiest, with parties for La Perla's Mare swim line at the recently opened Gansevoort Hotel, a party for Chloé's swim collection at the Setai Hotel, and some bash that Helena Christensen was hosting (we didn't make it—so many parties, so little time). Gabrielle Union was the big draw at the La Perla party, though she didn't drop by just for the cocktails—she had a plan: "I love this stuff. I'm gonna send my man into the store immediately to shop for me," she told us before heading off to dinner on a friend's boat.

Can Berlin Be Germany’s Fashion Capital?

Claudia Schiffer handing Karl Lagerfeld his award. We see he put his fancy silver gloves on.Photo: Getty Images

But Berlin Fashion Week soldiered on, rolling out 120 shows including one for Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania label. And week's end, they held an awards ceremony that honored the one and only Karl Lagerfeld (he's German!), which he accepted from German supermodel Claudia Schiffer. And just as Lagerfeld took the stage to give his acceptance speech, it seemed perhaps Berlin had arrived at last! But then, the New York Times remembered Lagerfeld works in Paris, Schiffer lives in England, and the award's sponsor, German Elle, is based in Munich. But surely, Karl would make the world forget all that with his forward-looking acceptance speech!

“In the ’20s, German fashion played a leading role,” Mr. Lagerfeld said after receiving the award, adding that he was working on a book about the era.

Or … not. At least they all appeared there in fancy dress together.

Berlin Ends Fashion Week, Eyes on Glamorous Past [NYT]

Music Review: Sugarland's new CD exuberant (AP)

AP - Sugarland, "Love On The Inside" (Mercury Nashville)

Music Review: Daft Punk's experimental film (AP)

AP - Daft Punk, "Electroma" (Vice Records)

'Knight' producer: 'Heath was the coolest guy'

No Get Out of Jail Card for Wino's Husband

Winehouse's husband jailed for 27 months

all about eva

Claudia Schiffer may be Germany's most lauded export, but within the country's borders, Eva Padberg towers over the other home-grown goddesses. Though she's not so well-known in the rest of the world, Padberg's friendly charm, non-threatening style, and willingness to pose for local lad mags as well as regional fashion fodder have earned her countless magazine covers, commercials, the rank of "Sexiest Woman in the World" from the readers of FHM, nonstop editorial coverage, and, beginning in 2007, a coveted position as Mercedes-Benz's brand ambassador. Ellen von Unwerth's images of her draped over or around Mercedes-Benzes adorn almost every corner of the city. At a cocktail party hosted by German Vogue at chic boutique The Corner to honor Phillip Lim, Padberg explained why Berlin fashion excites her. "It is naughty and not too sweet," she said. "Berlin is a little dangerous, artistic, musical, and sexy. I really like representing it, especially for Mercedes-Benz. I love to drive my Benz."

Sean Avery Cheats on ‘Vogue’ With ‘Marie Claire’

Sean Avery, cheater.Photo: Getty Images

"He was perusing the racks in the fashion closet with editor in chief Joanna Coles," said our spy. "He was promising to take her two boys to a hockey game." Avery, who stayed a few hours, was in plaid shorts and carrying a huge garment bag stuffed with clothing from The Row, the Olsen twins' line. "He had the fashion editors actually trying on the clothes and modeling them," laughed our spy.

Perhaps he was practicing his styling services and trying to drum up buzz for his new celebrity styling company? Or maybe Vogue's mad at him for missing the couture shows and he's trying to score a new gig? If that's the case, we could probably come up with an extra large athlete's cube for Seany in our offices. No workplace is complete without a famous intern, after all.

STILL STYLIN' [NYP]

Related: Celeb Intern Sean Avery’s Next Career: Celebrity Stylist
Sean Avery Missed Couture Because of Hockey

'Dark Knight' Sets Weekend Record With $155.34M

'The Dark Knight's' real good guy

Phileas Fogg travels the globe — on a tiny stage (AP)

AP - For a humorous look at the rigors of world travel and derring-do in Victorian times, take a trip with the Irish Rep's fast-paced "Around the World in 80 Days," adapted by Mark Brown from the Jules Verne novel.

Patrick Swayze Says Cancer Treatments 'Working Really Well'

The Jonas Brothers Want to Dress You! (E! Online)

E! Online - Add the Jonas Brothers to the list of musicians who want their own fashion line.

salma goes her own way

Zut alors! Newish parents Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek have called off their engagement. And so the adage goes: The insanely rich couple that wears Gucci together doesn't always stay together. C'est la vie.

We reported on summer interns back in June, but our favorite runway rookie, Ranger Sean Avery, is still in the honeymoon phase of his fashion tutelage.

Meanwhile, at Rolling Stone, Courtney Love's progeny Frances Bean Cobain is not to be confused with a barista.

Court tosses 'wardrobe malfunction' fine

in berlin, hat tricks

In keeping with the city's DNA, Berlin fashion week was short on frivolity and folly and focused on realistic street style instead. But designers were still eager to top off their collections with decorative flourishes, most often with whimsical hats. Dirk Schönberger's jeans collection for Joop! included the usual fetish fabrics such as latex and vinyl, as well as an unexpected series of massive plastic caps and visors reminiscent of Anish Kapoor's sculptures. Susanne Wiebe completed her ladylike line with Ascot-worthy creations made from twisted tulle. Models at Basso & Brooke carried enormous cloudlike concoctions down the catwalk, while Sisi Wasabi, the designer of Zerlina von dem Bussche, sent models down the runway with elegantly exaggerated fezzes crowned with single curling feathers. All in all, we'd say Berlin designers didn't let the more serious elements of their fledgling fashion week go entirely to their heads.

What Led to Fall of Death Row Records?

lather up, feel cooler

As the self-proclaimed "curator of cool," Ron Robinson, trendsetter and beauty-buyer extraordinaire, has been satiating L.A.'s product fiends for the past 25 years by introducing the under-moisturized and scent-seeking masses to brands like Kiehl's, the House of Creed, and L'Artisan Parfumeur long before they became household names. It's no surprise, then, that his in-house fragrance line, Apothia Los Angeles (that's shorthand for "apothecary + utopia," BTW), is a favorite with everyone who visits his Apothia boutique at Fred Segal. For those of you who don't just want to spritz on essences of fig, clean linen, or geranium but want to bathe in them—literally—you're in luck: Robinson just released Apothia Hand & Body, a line of eight new hand and body washes that are paraben- and sulfate-free—not to mention an exercise in total luxury. Looks like he's done it again.

McCartney, Daltrey join Joel for farewell