Congrats to Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre fave Bobby Moynihan, who was just named to the cast of Saturday Night Live for the upcoming season. Those of us who have enjoyed Bobby's work since the glory days of Police Chief Rumble salute him. The UCBT can look forward to yet another wave of comic hopefuls knocking down their doors for improv training tomorrow.

Bobby Moynihan Named New SNL Cast Member [HuffPo]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:30 pm

Rumer Willis: "I'm an Actual Actress Now"

Is she kidding? Is she for real? Check out my interview with the A-list offspring—and Anna Faris' costar in funny flick The House Bunny—to see what Rumer Willis means.

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:30 pm

Picture of "Grand Theft Auto IV" video games

Picture of "Grand Theft Auto IV" video games taken in April 2008 in Paris. US videogame giant Electronic Arts (EA) confirmed Wednesday it shifted from a hostile bid for "Grand Theft Auto" maker Take-Two...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:28 pm

Other Driver Cited in Shia LaBeouf Crash

The driver on the other end of Shia LaBeouf's DUI crash will have his day in court, as well. Herbert Simon, 21, has been cited for running a red light, a vehicular infraction that...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:24 pm

America Ferrera: An Ugly Side of Politics

America Ferrera, who once hit the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton, is now a very public supporter of Barack Obama, and for almost a year she's been urging young people to vote through...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:20 pm

Afternoon Fix: After Hours of Anticipation, We Present Jessica's Beer Ad

• We've spent the whole day agonizing about what Jessica Simpson's beer ad would look like, and finally it's here! Let's take a moment and admire her...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:15 pm

Jennifer Lopez returns to UTA

Front Page: Actress started her film career at agency -- Jennifer Lopez is on the move again, returning to UTA. Agency is where she jump-started her film career more than a decade ago.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:10 pm

Matilda Ledger Looks Just Like Heath, Gives Suri Cruise a Run for Her Money

We've been obsessing over Suri Cruise a little bit lately, which we realize is a little bit unfair. Suri isn't technically a New York kid — she's just visiting while her mom is on Broadway. And we have our own celebrity tykes here! Like Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon's baby Milo, Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson's baby Ryder — not to mention dozens of other half-famous children. But the child most famous in her own right is Matilda Ledger, daughter of the late Heath and actress Michelle Williams. So we went to look today for pictures of Matilda in her element: Brooklyn. And we were not disappointed. Look at the above picture! Is she not adorable? And does she not look exactly like her father? We know we just said that we can't tell which parent a baby's supposed to look like, but Matilda is almost 3! By the time she's in high school, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is totally going to be bribing her to go on a date with Julia Stiles. Just you wait and see.

Earlier: Suri's Just Cruising Around Town

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:08 pm

Trump Not the Only One After McMahon's House

Hey-ooo! Ed McMahon isn't ready to be indebted to Donald Trump just yet. It turns out that the uniquely coiffed real estate developer isn't the only potential buyer when it comes...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:05 pm

No More 'Vida Loca' for Papa Martin?

Ricky Martin is now the father of twin boys via a surrogate mother.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:03 pm

Young Jeezy and Nas Give Long-Awaited Presidential Endorsement

1. Young Jeezy feat. Nas, "My President"
If Young Jeezy and Nas had their way, our president would be black and turn "light green," when Obama's face is put on a $5,000 bill. [White Folks Get Crunk]

2. Vampire Weekend, "Everywhere" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Vampire Weekend do a live cover of Fleetwood Mac in the style of Paul Simon's ska band. [Hypeful]

3. TV on the Radio, "Golden Age"
Like the "blown-up … ghetto blaster" in the lyrics, this track (from next month's Dear Science) is both heavily retro and totally on fire. [Pitchfork]

4. Bloc Party, "Trojan Horse"
If the best revenge is living well, then Bloc Party's Kele Okereke has some here, with a new single that's better than anything Johnny Rotten's put out recently. [Cannibal Cheerleader]

5. Atlas Sound, "Holiday"
Atlas Sound's (and Deerhoof's) Bradford Cox would probably like to "hold a knife to [the] perfect fucking face" of the guy who pilfered two unfinished albums and some personal photos when he dropped this virtual seven-inch on Mediafire and forgot to password-protect the rest of his files. [Gorilla vs. Bear]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:00 pm

Tom Arnold Through With Marriage Again

You can't keep a good man down, and you can't keep Tom Arnold married. The actor's third divorce was finalized Tuesday, according to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:00 pm

Sales no obstacle for 'Wipeout'

Front Page: Endemol sells game show to 17 territories -- Endemol's search for another "Big Brother" or "Deal or No Deal" may finally be over with news that it has sold extreme game show "Wipeout," which made its global debut on ABC in June, to 17 territories.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:00 pm

Low-impact sports drama plays it by the numbers (Reuters)

Reuters - Aside from a few references to Tyra Banks and Beyonce, "The Longshots" feels like it unfolds in a bygone era.
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:53 pm

Brian Murray Exits Broadway's 'To Be or Not to Be'; Maloney Steps In (Playbill)

Playbill - Peter Maloney will replace Brian Murray as Dowasz in the cast of Manhattan Theatre Club's To Be or Not to Be, which starts performances Sept. 11.
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:51 pm

Jonas Brothers Sell 525K in One Week

Teen idols score the 3rd-biggest debut of '08, behind Lil Wayne and Coldplay.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:49 pm

Smile Reminder Helps Keep You Botoxed; Al Pacino Wears Blue Nails

PLASTIC SURGERY
• A service called Smile Reminder text-messages you when it's time to get your Botox injection with notes like, "If you don't return soon, your wrinkles surely will." [Inside the Beauty Department/Glamour]

• Margaret Cho on plastic surgery: "I think it is something that women can choose, I don't have any judgment about it. I prefer getting tattooed, because that feels more right for me, but different women take different paths. We are all beautiful, no matter what." Aw, we never knew she had a warm-fuzzy side! [Bella Sugar]

• Former Bond girl Britt Ekland: "It's fatal when actresses use Botox. I remember seeing Cold Mountain, and it really looked to me like Nicole Kidman had been using it. Her face was neither sad nor glad — nor anything, she was just like a painted doll. I thought: 'Why would she do that?' " Word. [NYP]

FRAGRANCE
• Narciso Rodriguez is launching a new scent in January. His 2003 Narciso Rodriguez for Him and Her fragrances are so yummy we're especially looking forward to this one. [WWD]

NAILS
• Al Pacino was spotted wearing blue nail polish in Los Angeles. Doesn't that just make you smile? [Mirror UK]

• Nails are becoming quite expressive, with Doritos, Goldfish, and even SpongeBob SquarePants appearing on acrylics. Hey, whatever floats your boat. [Haute Concept]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:45 pm

Met set on more opera

Front Page: Company, CineMedia expand plan -- The Metropolitan Opera and National CineMedia are expanding their successful partnership to bring more operas into more movie theaters in the upcoming season.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:34 pm

Revered Author Antonio Muñoz Molina Goes Meta-Mystery

Antonio Muñoz Molina’s latest beautifully wrought novel, A Manuscript of Ashes, is set in Franco-era Spain and tells the story of a young university student, Minaya, who retreats to his uncle Manuel’s mansion in the countryside to write a thesis on a neglected poet the old man once knew. As the plot progresses, Minaya uncovers a startling truth about the relationship between the men, and the story darkens into a meta-mystery. Molina writes in big, fat paragraphs and the kind of lush sentences that can bear the scrutiny usually reserved for poems. He’s certain to keep the gaggle of critics already in love with him deeply enamored.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:30 pm

Co-defendant: O.J.'s fame will drag me down

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:30 pm

Apatocalypse Now: Five Movies to Get You Through the Coming Judd Apatow Drought

Over the past few years, we've been strictly conditioned to expect new Judd Apatow movies — like celebrity DUIs and Ryan Adams albums — to happen once every two or three weeks. But what if we told you there were no more Apatow-produced films being released for the rest of the 2008? It's true! According to IMDb, Pineapple Express is the last one until Year One, which won't be out until NEXT JUNE. Luckily, it's impossible to get a comedy green-lit these days unless it features at least one or two former Freaks and Geeks cast members and a story that casts some portly doofus as the romantic opposite of a gorgeous actress. After the jump, the five fall movies Hollywood hopes can fill the void.

1. Role Models

Release Date: November 14
Featured Apatow acolytes: Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Ken Jeong.
Apatovian plot: Rudd and Seann William Scott play man-children repping for an energy-drink company. After damaging public property, they're sentenced to community service, acting as Big Brothers to McLovin and a wisecracking black child. Paul Rudd grows up and scores with Elizabeth Banks.
How Judd Apatow could've made it funnier: Apatovian convention dictates that Paul Rudd's rugged handsomeness must be offset by the fatness of a schlubby sidekick. Assuming Seth Rogen was probably too busy, Seann William Scott's part should probably have been played by Jonah Hill.

2. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Release Date: October 3
Featured Apatow acolytes: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Jay Baruchel.
Apatovian plot: Playing against type as an inarticulate doofus, Cera is a guitarist in a queercore band. To save herself the embarrassment of being seen alone (or something), Dennings makes out with him. They spend a music-fueled night out in Manhattan.
How Judd Apatow could've made it funnier: The attractiveness differential between Cera and Dennings is too small for an actual Apatow movie, so he likely would've asked Cera to gain 40 pounds and wear a Jewfro wig.

3. Sex Drive

Release Date: October 9
Featured Apatow acolytes: None to speak of.
Apatovian plot: In this down-market Superbad, Josh Zuckerman stars as a geeky high-school senior who drives across the country to see a girl he befriended online by telling her he was a football player. Presumably she will have lied about something too, but probably not her looks, as she will likely be gorgeous and accept him for the off-brand McLovin he is on the inside.
How Judd Apatow could've made it funnier: Casting the actual McLovin.

4. Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Release Date: October 31
Featured Apatow acolytes: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson.
Apatovian plot: Rogen and Banks star as lifelong friends down on their luck. After a fifteen-year high-school reunion underscores their lack of accomplishment, they decide to start their own amateur porn company. Then, inexplicably, they fall in love.
How Judd Apatow would've made it funnier: Jay Baruchel as a high-maintenance mustached porn actor, possibly with performance anxiety.

5. W.

Release Date: October 17
Featured Apatow acolytes: Elizabeth Banks.
Apatovian plot: Josh Brolin plays a Ferrell-esque man-child who can't hold down a job, bumbling his way through life and a presidency.
How Judd Apatow could've made it funnier: John C. Reilly as Laura Bush? Actually, Oliver Stone seems to have his bases covered here.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:15 pm

Greatest Unknown Yankee Discovered

Mark Pulliam had a story that would put even the most well-rounded athlete to shame: Not only had he played major-league ball for the Yankees, but he’d also been commissioned by George Steinbrenner to paint a portrait of Yankee Stadium to hang in the club’s front office. Paul McCartney was a fan of his work, and Tiger Woods even owned one of his pieces. But this Renaissance man had another talent, too: duping Orlando Magazine into running a profile of him, because it turns out he made the whole story up.

Apparently the magazine didn’t verify anything beyond the fact that Pulliam was a full-time artist, and after his story ran, in an article titled “The Natural,” a reader called their attention to the fact that Pulliam had never played in the majors. (This isn’t terribly hard to verify, by the way.) So the magazine, presumably hard at work on September’s Sidd Finch cover story, did a little bit of belated fact-checking and found he’d never played for the Yankees (or for the University of Florida, as he also claimed). Yankee officials also confirmed to them that his painting of the stadium never hung in the team’s offices, and we’ll go out on a limb and confirm they were laughing pretty hard when they fielded that phone call.

We’re not sure what Pulliam’s endgame was — publicity, we guess, since even after confronted with evidence that his baseball career was fabricated, he insisted that the parts about celebrities owning his work were true. But maybe he was just hoping to land a tryout with the Yankees for real. Considering their alternatives for this weekend, he couldn’t do much worse, could he?

Duped! The Mark Pulliam Story [Orlando Magazine via Sports by Brooks]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:15 pm

MTV’s New Model Reality Show Is All About Getting Contestants to Lose Weight

We were excited when we heard MTV had a model reality show in the works, but we're not too thrilled about its premise. Model Maker asks girls who are pretty enough to be models but lack the super-thin figure necessary to make it big to lose weight to realize their dreams. A rep for the show told amNY they'll do so "in a healthy and realistic time span." Contestants must be between the ages of 17 and 24, five foot nine and six feet tall, and 130 and 190 pounds. A press release about the show reads:

Women come in all shapes and sizes, but models don't. The term model conjures an image of stick-thin, towering beauties oozing confidence, glamour, poise and sexuality from every pore. "Skinny," "no body fat," and "size zero" are the words and phrases associated with models. "Chubby," "well-fed," and "big- boned" are not … With weekly eliminations looming, models must put their best foot forward at all times while staying focused on losing weight.

If we may: A girl who weighs 130 pounds at five foot nine tall has very little chance of maintaining a model-size physique healthfully. Doctors will tell you people have a natural weight that they eventually wind up at no matter how much they gain or lose. And we get that some chicks, including many models, are naturally very thin, but there's probably not a healthy way for a non-twig to maintain such slimness. And considering the high-profile models who have come out recently with their unhealthy weight-loss attempts, why would such a girl want to try? Coco Rocha revealed using diuretics at 108 pounds to lose weight left her doubled over in pain. And who can forget Ali Michael, who said on the Today show that her hair started falling out and she stopped having her period after she starved herself down to 102 pounds, symptoms many models in Paris told her they shared?

The new MTV show is partly the brainchild of model manager Michael Flutie, who will "spearhead the transformations." The winner gets $100,000, a modeling portfolio, a personal trainer for a year, and most important, "the chance to jumpstart the career of [her] dreams." You can watch Flutie on the Pensacola and St. Louis local news here, with clueless anchors nodding and smiling like this is all such a good idea. The only good we can imagine coming from this is if it highlights just how dangerous this kind of weight loss really can be.

MTV asks wannabe models to lose weight [amNY]
MODEL MAKERS: a new MTV "Transformation Make-Over" Reality Show [Official site]

Related: CFDA Panel on Skinny Models: Coco Rocha on Her Struggle
Model Ali Michael on ‘Today:’ ‘I Hadn't Had My Period in Over a Year’

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:06 pm

Rielle Hunter’s Baby Photos: Not Quite John Edwards in a Onesie

Now that the mainstream media is picking up everything that the National Enquirer reports about John Edwards, we've been sort of thrown into a tizzy. The latest word from the tabloid is that the day before Edwards admitted his affair with Hunter on Nightline, Hunter and her daughter, Frances Quinn, were flown on a chartered Learjet to St. Croix. Her stay on the Caribbean island, the Enquirer says, was paid for by a trial-lawyer friend of Edwards's named Lee Rohn. We have no idea whether this is reliable information. But for some reason we do trust the cover photo on the magazine, which shows a joyful Rielle Hunter showing off little Frances Quinn. Now, we are not the kind of people who look at babies and say "Oh, he looks like his DADA. Oh yes he does. Oh yes he does." We never think babies look like anybody, ever, except for maybe Truman Capote. But contrary to what we've been told, that kid does not look like John Edwards in a onesie.

John Edwards Blockbuster New Expose [National Enquirer]
Earlier: Rielle Hunter's Baby Looks Like John Edwards in a Onesie

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 20 Aug 2008 | 8:46 pm

Deal expands for Ryan Seacrest

Front Page: TV host signs multiyear pact with Comcast -- Ryan Seacrest has signed a new multiyear deal with Comcast that will seek to expand the omnipresent E! personality's role across the conglom's cable networks.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 20 Aug 2008 | 8:33 pm

David Edelstein Remembers Manny Farber

Over on David Edelstein's Projectionist blog, New York's film critic remembers his friend, seminal critic Manny Farber, who died this week in San Diego. "Manny could seem inscrutable yet was actually hyperprecise," Edelstein writes, "which is why we kept listening, unpacking his phrases, sure that whatever came out, no matter how gnomic, contained multitudes." We also are pleased to present a 1994 Edelstein profile of Farber the artist from the pages of New York, in which Edelstein asks Farber about his crucial essay "White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art" and Farber replies, "It's a good theory. I'm not dis-proud of it. Unreadable article, though."

Reflections on Manny Farber, a Critic and an Artist [Projectionist]
A Painter, but Still a Critic [NYM]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 8:30 pm

Artist Mircea Suciu Gets Brighter Whites

Mircea Suciu’s 30 paintings at SLAG through September 11 are apparently inspired by advertisements from the forties and fifties. Is this grainy rendering a Tide commercial, possibly one directed by Virginia Woolf?

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 8:00 pm

Women’s Table-Tennis Players Urged to Wear Short Skirts, Tighter Shirts

Not very many people are going to watch table tennis at the Olympics in Beijing, which is weird because according to Reuters, China is "the country most obsessed with table tennis." The International Table Tennis Federation blames the potential lack of interest on the sport's "fusty image." We love a good makeover, but the ITTF's solution is terribly one-sided: They're trying to encourage women players to wear short skirts and tighter shirts that emphasize their curves, kind of like regular tennis players. But they're not telling men to do anything about their wardrobe. After Michael Phelps made such a splash, pun intended, in his little swimmy tights, why shouldn't the ITTF encourage male Ping-Pongers to wear skintight bodysuits? Just picture in your head, for a moment, dudes playing table tennis in what look like ballet costumes. Wouldn't you watch for the sheer silliness of it all?

Table Tennis-Women urged to wear shirts with “curves” [Yahoo Sports via Jezebel]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 8:00 pm

Celebrated writer and his wandering life

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 7:55 pm

Jean Nouvel’s Chelsea Tower Over Budget, Behind Schedule

Chelsea: One Hundred Eleventh Avenue, Jean Nouvel's patchwork-paned condo tower, is nearly a year behind schedule and roughly $50 million over budget ... but the real news here is that Nouvel is a bald dead-ringer for our all-time favorite stage actress, Marian Seldes. Don't you think? [Curbed]
Kingsbridge: These three suuuuuuuuuper-cute kitties found in a Bronx garbage can need a home! Watch the video ... looks like the woman who found them (who's already full up with four cats) is part of the Bronx's first wave of hipsters. (She's not quite a scruffle, sorry.) [NY1 via West Bronx Blog]
Park Slope: The Babeland sex-toy shop that opened here recently, earning a scolding from right-wing group Focus on the Family for offering a baby-changing table, is doing well, and did you know that the proprietor refers to best-selling vibrators The Wand and Rabbit as "meat-and-potato" items? That conjures a gross image, but maybe it could be fun, right? Portnoy kinda did that, right? [NYO]

Rego Park: Representative Anthony Weiner, prepping to run for mayor next year, set up a "mobile office" here to reach out to the people ... and promised that he would still throw phones in a fit of anger, even if it's only his cell phone. [NYDN]
Riverdale: If they paved paradise to put up a parking lot so you could visit your ailing mother, would it be less evil? All of Riverdale is asking itself that question after three beloved trees were felled so the Schervier nursing home could build a parking lot. This community has been rocked to its core, and likely won't ever recover. [Riverdale Press]
Sunset Park: A funky-painted white SUV here wants you to know that "Jesus is waiting for you...Come quickly." Why? Because "the gate is open." Just ask the cheery, unidentified guy with the fedora. [Best View in Brooklyn]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 20 Aug 2008 | 7:45 pm

‘Nixon’ Does Unthinkable: Makes Tricky Dick Sympathetic

Director Oliver Stone swears his upcoming Dubya biopic will be evenhanded, but for those who doubt his sincerity, revisit Stone's 1995 drama about another president whose legacy hangs in tatters. Rereleased on DVD in an extended cut, Nixon remains a mournful, surprisingly sympathetic portrait of ambition and ego collapsing into ruinous disgrace. Anthony Hopkins, who may not resemble the man, nonetheless nails Nixon’s twitchy essence in an intense performance. And let’s not forget Joan Allen’s great turn as First Lady Pat Nixon — easily the strongest woman in Stone’s boys'-club oeuvre.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 7:30 pm

Meet the New Girl: Danijela de Jesus

Mexico might not be known for its models — we drew a blank trying to think of any in recent history — but Danijela de Jesus might be changing that very soon. Already well known in her country, she finally landed at Major Models in New York and Milan late last year. The five foot ten model has already graced the cover of Italian Maxim’s April issue. But what we love most about the Mexican stunner is her bodacious body, which is just begging to be part of the Victoria's Secret clan alongside Adriana Lima and Doutzen Kroes. Don't be surprised when this one gets her wings.

Model Profile: Danijela de Jesus

For more model info and photos, check out our extensive Model Manual.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 7:15 pm

Sneak a Peek Inside the Secret World of Burma With Guy Delisle’s New Comic

Guy Delisle has an adorable baby and a wife whose job with Médecins Sans Frontières takes her to some of the secretive places on earth. Luckily, Delisle is a cartoonist with a knack for whimsical exploration. His 2005 graphic novel Pyongyang, a chronicle of his two months in North Korea, is one of the best portraits of that reclusive nation we've read, and now his new comic, Burma Chronicles, takes us inside that country's autocratic junta. It's a bizarre place, where "rebellious" youths wear Sonic Youth T-shirts but the junta doesn't allow Sonic Youth's music.

Check out our exclusive preview, in which Delisle attempts to visit imprisoned Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma Chronicles, by Guy Delisle

Burma Chronicles comes out from Drawn & Quarterly in September.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 7:15 pm

Meet Valerie Jarrett, the Woman Who Taught Al Sharpton to Lower His Voice

One of the less-scrutinized senior advisers on Barack Obama's campaign is actually one of the friends who has known him the longest. Valerie Jarrett, a political strategist and adept liaison with black leaders and Hillary supporters alike, met Barack Obama in 1991 when Michelle Robinson (at that time Obama's fiancée) asked her for help. Barack wanted to speak with her about the recently elected Chicago mayor Richard Daley, who was wooing Michelle for a job in his office. Jarrett and Obama saw eye-to-eye, and have been allies ever since. The Chicago power broker has been profiled in the Tribune, Newsweek, and on CBS News. But this tidbit from Michelle Cottle's latest New Republic story really caught our eye:

One of Jarrett's better-known conferees has been the Reverend Al Sharpton. As Sharpton tells it, he was initially skeptical of Obama — until Jarrett went to work on him. "Part of what moved me from, 'Who is Barack Obama and what is he really about?' to 'Yes, this is a guy who can help make changes even if we're not on the same page in terms of style and approach'--a lot of that came from talking to her," he gushes … Whether the matter is political (such as the campaign's response to a smear) or policy related (such as Obama's vote on the FISA bill), says Sharpton, "she's so calm herself that you find yourself fighting to stay calm as well, trying to even out your tone."

Someone who can get Al Sharpton to stop shouting? Get this woman a Cabinet post.

The Woman to See [New Republic]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:52 pm

Target to Showcase Diffusion Lines in Manhattan Pop-Up Shops

Target just announced its profits dropped 7.6 percent in the second quarter. It seems competing with fellow discount-retail behemoth Wal-Mart is a real bitch in this recession of ours. So Target is trying to attract customers by hyping its designer diffusion lines. Those efforts include something very special for New Yorkers: Target will open four "bullseye bodega" pop-up shops in Manhattan next month in midtown, Union Square, Soho, and the East Village on September 11. The shops will showcase Target's new diffusion lines including Jonathan Saunders's apparel collection, Anya Hindmarch's handbags, and Sigerson Morrison's shoe collection. Woo hoo! Sayonara, shipping fees! With the opening date falling in the thick of Fashion Week, the absence of tent-confined fashionistas may make for a pleasurable, not too crowded shopping experience. And considering how cute Richard Chai's Target line is, you'll probably want to make a cameo.

Target Profits Fall in Q2 [DNR]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:38 pm

Brooklyn Artist, American Graffiti Activists Arrested in Beijing

Brooklyn artist-activist James Powderly, founder of the Graffiti Research Lab, has apparently been arrested in Beijing for planning a laser-graffiti Tibet protest. (He let friends know about the arrest via a Twitter direct message.) Five other protesters using Powderly's LED "throwie" technology on a FREE TIBET banner outside the Bird's Nest have also been arrested. The comments on the Boing Boing posts about these detentions have been somewhat ridiculous ("What did he expect," etc.). Here's hoping that all six (and, you know, all other political prisoners everywhere) are freed soon.

GRL's James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet "L.A.S.E.R. Stencil" art protest [Boing Boing]
Beijing: Five US activists detained after lighting up "Free Tibet" LED Throwies banner near Olympics site [Boing Boing]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:30 pm

Angie Harmon Officially Expecting Baby No. 3 (E! Online)

E! Online - Angie Harmon has seen the error of her privacy-seeking ways.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:24 pm

GOP Confirms: Joe Lieberman to Speak at Republican National Convention

McCain supporter and former Democrat Joe Lieberman will speak at the Republican National Convention in two weeks, the party confirmed today. It's a development that's been rumored for a few weeks and shouldn't surprise many — Lieberman has been one of his friend McCain's staunchest advocates lately. When he was reelected to the Senate in 2006 for his third term, he ran as an Independent. But even though Democrats ran a candidate against him, after his victory he told the press to call him an "Independent-Democrat." Clearly the days of that sentiment are over. What's unclear as yet is how his appearance there will affect independent voters. Core Democrats have already mistrusted him ever since he left the party, and core Republicans will see his presence at the RNC as a reminder of McCain's maverick roots. What is clear, at least, is that the conventions this year are shaping up to be a lot less boring than predicted. What's next, Condoleezza Rice at the DNC? Come on! Obama's going to be speaking outdoors — for once we can have some fireworks.

Sen. Joe Lieberman to Speak at Republican Convention [AP]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 20 Aug 2008 | 5:59 pm

Peter Jackson to co-write 'Hobbit' film: reports

Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson will co-write the screenplays for the two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," it was reported on Wednesday.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 20 Aug 2008 | 5:52 pm

Janet Jackson Resurrects ‘Pleasure Principle’ With Lingerie Line

Janet Jackson has been talking about designing a lingerie line for some weeks now. We'd hoped she was just being ironic, what with that whole Super Bowl malfunction and all. But she just unveiled the line, prompting us to rescind said hopes. Why? She named it Pleasure Principle. Oh-oh. Oh-oh. Oh-Ohhhhh! You know you love it, too.

Jackson's designing the line with Australian lingerie designer Bruno Schiavi, who also designs Dr. Rey's Shapewear line (as in Dr. 90210 plastic surgeon Robert Rey). Jackson said she really wanted the satin and lace wears to be comfortable. "I hate when you’ve had on a bra all day long and you just can’t wait to take it off — every woman has experienced that," Jackson tells WWD.

The line is expected to hit department stores either at the end of this year or early next year and is currently being shopped around to buyers. Jackson and Schiavi plan to expand beyond lingerie next year and are currently working on more lines. What are the odds that body jewelry is next?

Janet Jackson Launches Lingerie [WWD]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 5:38 pm

Olympics still a big winner for NBC

Front Page: Game coverage crushes competition -- Although its second-week averages continue to lag behind what it registered last week when swimming dominated coverage, NBC's telecast of the Beijing Summer Olympics crushed the competition in primetime on Tuesday.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 20 Aug 2008 | 5:13 pm

Fire Investigators Waiting For 50 Cent to Talk

Meanwhile, the 'Hip-Hop Cash King' has been spotted at events in New York City.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 5:13 pm

A screen grab of the video arcade game "Space Invaders"

A screen grab of the video arcade game "Space Invaders." Europe's biggest games convention in Leipzig, Germany, marks 30 years since "Space Invaders" this week with a homage to the alien 'shoot-em-up'...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 20 Aug 2008 | 4:17 pm

Angelina Jolie’s Makeup Artist Found Dead

Bad news: Celebrity makeup artist Paul Starr was found dead in his L.A. apartment yesterday at the age of 48. Starr's A-list clients included Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Garner, and Jessica Alba. His extensive work in the fashion industry includes collaborations with Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabbana.

In his 2005 book Paul Starr on Beauty: Conversations With Thirty Celebrity Women, Jolie says, "During the time we have spent in the make up chair, we talked about everything but the photo shoot; global issues, babies, human rights."

Police broke down Starr's door yesterday after he had been missing for days. The cause of death is still unknown.

Makeup Artist To Movie Stars Paul Starr Found Dead [All Headline News]
Jolie make-up artist found dead [Metro UK]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 4:10 pm

Matt Damon's Wife Gives Birth to Baby Girl

Matt Damon's wife Luciana gave birth to a baby girl Wednesday, his spokeswoman said.
Source: FOXNews.com | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:44 pm

DMB's Sax Player, LeRoi Moore, Dies

Dave Matthews Band member Moore, 46, died of injuries from an ATV accident.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:29 pm

Teachers Alter Shopping Habits; Hedi Slimane’s New Men’s ‘Vogue’ Cover Debuts

• Teachers are among the hardest hit by the recession, reportedly spending less on clothes, waiting for sales, and changing where they shop, according to a WWD survey. [WWD]

• Calvin Klein Inc. signed a new licensing agreement with G-III Apparel Group to add more women's sportswear and outerwear to its repertoire beginning next spring. [WWD]

• Lutz & Patmos, known for tapping a new guest designer every season, will collaborate with fashion icon Jane Birkin, whose designs for the label will bow at New York's Fashion Week. [Nylon]

• The cover of the first issue of Japanese Men's Vogue shot by Hedi Slimane is out! [Models.com]

• The new Halston bags are disappointing bag snobs. Commenters say their brown, slouchy sack bag, which costs $2,495, looks more suited to a rack at the Gap. [Bag Snob]

• The House of Lords Science Committee condemned the British fashion industry yesterday for encouraging a "throwaway society" with the rise of fast-fashion retailers adding to "commercial and domestic waste". [The Independent]

• Betsey Johnson said she kissed Anna Nicole Smith right before Smith died: "She came to my rocker-chick show. She was wearing one of those dotted net see-through things with roses on her bullet bra underneath. It was when she was doing TrimSpa, and she looked really beautiful." [NYP]

• Young Patrons of Lincoln Center will honor Zac Posen this October for his work on behalf of arts education. We smell a soirée in Tinsley Mortimer's future. [British Vogue]

• Carolina Herrera Jr. on girls who try to dress like they're in Sex and the City: "The shoes fit badly, their bag is too big, they're not used to having 100 necklaces on their neck. There's nothing wrong with being trendy if that's what you've been doing all your life." [NYP]

• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt might marry live on TV. But not until she gets her engagement ring. Oh, Spencer — why are you keeping us in such torturous suspense? [NYDN]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:25 pm

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in "Body of Lies" with the Iranian actress

US actor Leonardo DiCaprio is seen here in March 2008. Iran has banned award-winning actress Golshifteh Farahani from leaving the country over her appearance in a star-studded Hollywood production, the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:13 pm

Is 'Guitar Hero' saving rock 'n' roll?

Metallica's Lars Ulrich loves Black Sabbath and Deep Purple -- and so does his 10-year-old son. Ulrich's son, however, picked up some of his love of those bands from video games. Ulrich approves -- and so does the music business.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 2:44 pm

J. Simpson: From Singing to Selling Beer

Pop-turned-country star Jessica Simpson to front for Dallas' Stampede beer.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 2:35 pm

Saxophonist LeRoi Moore dies

Front Page: Musician was in the Dave Matthews Band -- LeRoi Moore, the versatile saxophonist whose signature staccato fused jazz and funk overtones onto the eclectic sound of the Dave Matthews Band, died Tuesday of complications from injuries he suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident, the band said.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 20 Aug 2008 | 2:28 pm

Applegate's Breast Removal to Stop Cancer

In an exclusive interview, Applegate speaks of her double mastectomy.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 2:22 pm

Penelope Cruz Gets a Hit for Woody Allen

Woody Allen may have his biggest hit since his spectacular run from the late '70s and early '80s.
Source: FOXNews.com | 20 Aug 2008 | 2:12 pm

NBC goes seven-for-seven

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 1:42 pm

Why 'Godspell' was put on hold

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 1:34 pm

Race Bleeds From Election to Big Screen

Three new films tackle black vs. white issues on the eve of the '08 election.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 1:30 pm

Roger Moore: Being Bond could be painful

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 1:25 pm

Review: 'Rocker' doesn't rock

There's a certain kind of lamely domesticated, corporate, lit-like-a-floor-wax-commercial rock 'n' roll comedy that makes you feel faintly embarrassed for the people who made it.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 20 Aug 2008 | 1:23 pm

Russian conductor Valery Gergiev

Russian conductor Valery Gergiev gives a press conference with French concert pianist Helene Grimaud (not pictured) at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, south-western Germany, January 2008. Gergiev will...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:50 pm

A packed Royal Opera House in London

A packed Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, central London. Sony Corp. plans to use its latest high-definition video technology to show operas staged in England in cinemas in Japan, the electronics giant...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:19 pm