Source: The Cut | 8 Oct 2008 | 9:01 pm

OMG, Is Frank Bruni Going to Ditch Food for Politics?

The answer is no, you panicked foodies. Though Bruni did have a front-page political analysis piece on the debate today, he also had a restaurant review in the paper and dutifully posted to his blog. Plus, we asked him about it (he covered the George W. Bush campaign in 2000, after all) and he said there was no change in focus. So stop freaking out! Or was that just us? [NYT]

Source: Daily Intel | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:55 pm

Sorry, Eli Isn’t the Better Manning — Not Yet

Photo: Getty Images

Things are good in Giants land these days. They’re the defending champs, undefeated so far in 2008, and even the mild Plaxico Burress controversy hasn’t had much negative effect, other than giving Gary Myers the chance to offer up a few unsolicited parenting tips. So, forced to write an endless stream of positive stories about a local team for once, the press has taken the opportunity to officially deify Eli Manning. (Or, if you will, "Jeter" him.) And how better to do that than to claim he’s better than his brother, future Hall of Famer Peyton?

ESPN.com’s Gregg Easterbrook kicked things off yesterday, calling Eli the better QB not just right now, but perhaps the one who'll be considered better when all is said and done. Then today, the Daily News, which presumably didn’t want to miss the opportunity to use the BEST MANN headline they’ve had sitting around all these years, declared pretty much the same thing in an article by Ralph Vacchiano. (It’s, um, worth pointing out that Vacchiano has just published a book about … Eli Manning.) Here’s the thing — the hype’s just not really true.

Look, we don't mean to knock Eli; we think quite highly of him, in fact. It's just that his brother is already one of the all-time greats. Yes, we get it: They have similar stats (both this year and through their first 59 starts), each has one title, but Eli’s team has a better record, plus he’s five years younger. Easterbrook and Vacchiano leave out a few key details, though. Peyton had the Patriots dynasty in his conference during his prime; if not for them, Peyton might have two or three titles, but Eli would still just have one. Plus, the Colts’ offense has always revolved around Peyton throwing, over and over again with historic success, to Marvin Harrison. Eli, meanwhile, is a part of a much more balanced offense — and for that matter, a more balanced team, with a terrific defense.

Plus, it’s entirely possible we’re in the midst of the hottest streak Eli will ever put together — which, by the way, there would be nothing wrong with. Peyton, meanwhile, isn't really flying high right now, with the Colts at just 2–2. So sure, today Eli is better — or at least seems better. But who knows about a week from now — let alone ten years from now. (Remember, it wasn't all that long ago that the Giants looked foolish for zeroing in on Eli when they could have kept Phillip Rivers or drafted Ben Roethlisberger.) Could Eli eventually be the better Peyton? Sure, maybe. But maybe doesn’t sell papers.

Source: Daily Intel | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:45 pm

Artist Roman Signer’s Musical Tastes Have Really Gone to Seed

What does a flower sound like? No, that's not a hard-hitting question from last night's debate but rather one of the synaesthetic stumpers posed by Swiss artist Roman Signer, whose archly poetic combo of a potted Kalanchoe, a record player, and an electric-blue oil drum hits the sweet spot on everything from old-fashioned beauty to conceptual tang. See Duchamp remixed in James Fuentes LLC's courtyard, on view through Sunday (weather permitting).

Source: Vulture | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:45 pm

Get Your Mad Max On in Head-to-Toe Leather

A leather mini at Alexander McQueen.
Photo: Imaxtree

Designers took one of fall's staple fabrics for a turn down spring catwalks. Leather, along with its shinier cousin patent leather, is now a warm-weather must-have. Vivienne Westwood, Givenchy, and Haider Ackermann all showed short-sleeved jackets, while Chloé crafted fire-engine-red leather hot pants. Christian Dior also used light-gray patent leather on a motorcycle jacket for a softer look. So throw out the rule book because leather's in twelve months of the year. Click ahead to see sixteen designers who took on spring leather.

Source: The Cut | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:31 pm

Brooklyn Heights Soil at High Risk of Stroke Due to Salt Levels

Photo: Getty Images

Well, we've all known for a while now that the spray from the fancy art waterfalls was hurting the trees in Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights, and now there's hard scientific proof: Soil at the River Café, whose trees were getting hit, has ten times the normal amount of salt in it. That puts Brooklyn Heights soil at high risk of hypertension and possible stroke. No wonder tree-health advocates in those hoods are relieved that those waterfalls (which, come on, let's just say it, were a bit underwhelming) are coming down October 13. Also, interestingly, waterfalls creator Olafur Eliasson really doesn't seem that remorseful about the tree-hurting, frankly. [Brooklyn Paper]

Source: Daily Intel | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:23 pm

Art Spiegelman on ‘Breakdowns’ Redux and the Dark Side of Tina Fey

Photo: Getty Images

Art Spiegelman may now hold a rarified place among the sages of American comics — see his Pulitzer-winning Maus books, the supremely moving stories of his parents' survival of the concentration camps, in which Spiegelman imagined Jews as mice and Nazis as menacing cats. But as any comics hound knows, Spiegelman got his start in the underground scene of the late sixties and early seventies, designing Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids for Topps Bubble Gum Co., and later founding the avant-garde graphic magazine RAW. Now Pantheon Books has resurrected his seminal out-of-print 1978 collection Breakdowns — now subtitled "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@?*! — with a new introduction by Spiegelman (half as long as the book itself), out this week. Spiegelman spoke to Vulture from his New York apartment about the druggie seventies, the genius of Mark Twain, and what he's working on now.

I really like the way you describe this book: "a manifesto, a diary, a crumpled suicide note, and a still relevant love letter" to your art form.
Basically, the work I did in 1978 was me plunging headfirst into what comics might be, as opposed to what people assumed they were. And that was done in what I think George Trow calls the context of no context — there was no place to do that thing the way there is now, where even New York Magazine covers comics. The language I was using was not one most people spoke, you know? Comics being used in a very taut and heightened way. That was a really exciting moment, because a lot of what you're living through now, with comics being welcomed at the banquet table rather than being the hunchback twisted dwarf kept at the door, comes from that sixties underground press time, when comics were allowed to not be safe mass entertainment.

You spent some time on a Vermont commune around then. Were you doing much drawing there?
What was I doing? A lot of fornication and a lot of drugs. I was drawing, but unlike certain cartoon peers, I couldn't control what meager talents I have while I was stoned. So there were occasional walks outside the decaying farmhouse, and occasional scribblings on pieces of paper and making very ornate, speedlike drawings, but it wasn't the work I'd really want to pass on to posterity.

It's funny that your publisher at the time Breakdowns came out was called Nostalgia Press. What does nostalgia mean to you? Do you equate it with memory?
They're not identical by a long shot. My new insight into memory comes from Pete Hamill's book Downtown. He's obviously a nostalgic fella, but what I loved is he talks about nostalgia not as a soft, wishy-washy mellow emotion — he redefines nostalgia as somehow hard-boiled, as a tough-minded way of accepting the fact that New York, the subject of the book, is in a constant state of change, and appreciating that while learning to understand what is. That's what I would like to think of as nostalgia, cause my nostalgia is really only for time before I was born. Ever since it's been downhill.

Breakdowns includes the strip "Cracking Jokes," in which you expound upon "Humor History and Theory," writing, "most humor is a refined form of aggression or hatred." Does anger fuel your work?
Well, that's just one sequence — the main thing to me is the Mark Twain quote at the end, which is basically "there's ain't no humor in heaven, and life is pain." I think he nailed it on the head when he said everything human is pathetic, the secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. When you're watching Tina Fey, you're watching pain! Humor's just a specific way of telling the truth, when it's genuinely funny.

I've always been intrigued by the amount of inner dialogue and self-analysis in your work. Is drawing a therapy of some sort for you?
She said on the phone, she asked yet again about art and therapy. He said in a fit of pique, as he had done to a journalist a mere month ago, "NO!" Therapy, therapy is vomiting things up. Art is about eating your own vomit.” There's a therapeutic aspect to all making, but the nature of working is to compress, condense, and shape stuff, not to just expunge it. It's not just an exorcism.

I hadn't thought of it that way — therapy as vomiting.
I hadn't either, until I snarled at someone asking me about therapy one time too many! I didn't mean to give you a hard time. You asked about the meta, self-conscious awareness thing — I just went into an inner monologue, that's all!

Well, you're actually working on something called Meta Maus now, right?
It's sort of like the Criterion DVD that has my notebooks, my sketches, rough drafts, interviews, transcripts, photos, historical references made into a work that can sit next to Maus, now that Maus has become something used in schools, and allows me the personal pleasure of being able to finally liberate about eight shelves of my studio which I'll never have to look at again once it's been Meta Maus–ed. And I just finished organizing a project with McSweeney's, three of my sketchbooks published in different formats, wrapped in a Velcro strap, that'll be out in February — it's going to be called Be a Nose.

Be a Nose?
Yeah. It's because of a Roger Carman movie I saw in 1960, this B movie about this schmuck who works as a busboy in a coffeehouse and he's very envious because the patrons are all artists and writers and they all "get the hot chicks," and he wants them too. So after sweeping out the coffee shop, he goes back to his room with a giant lump of clay and he's pounding at it, yelling "Be a nose! Be a nose!" He finally throws a knife into a wall and accidentally kills a cat, which he puts in plaster and becomes his first sculpture. But that moment of screaming "Be a nose!" at a lump of clay describes my work process really perfectly.

Source: Vulture | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:19 pm

McCain’s Five Oldest Debate Moments

Photo: Getty Images

It's not a secret, so we're just going to say it: John McCain showed his age last night. The contrast onstage with Barack Obama in mobility and appearance was obvious to anyone watching. As Ezra Klein put it, "He moves like a 72-year-old man because he is a 72-year-old man." And as with most debates – especially one pretty much devoid of any noteworthy substance – it's the candidates' images that will affect viewers' opinions the most. In that respect, McCain didn't help himself by repeatedly doing and saying things that, frankly, made him seem even older than he already appears. Here are the top five moments:

5. "That one." Only because we don't really know what McCain meant last night when he referred to Obama as "that one" instead of, say, "Senator Obama," "Barack," "Barack Obama," "my opponent" — really, anything — does this land at No. 5. But regardless of what he intended, a common reaction is that McCain sounded like a cranky old man scolding a misbehaving child.

4. Leaving the floor. After the debate finished, both McCain and Obama worked the crowd to shake hands with members of the audience. But McCain departed after a few minutes, leaving the entire place to Obama, who continued to meet and take photos for what seemed like another half hour. Why would McCain allow Obama to soak up the TV coverage of that scene — much of which continued on cable news long after the debate was over — all by himself? Our guess is that he was just pooped after standing and walking for most of the debate.

3. Walking in front of the TelePrompTer. Not that it was really his fault, but as he and Obama converged at the center of the stage to shake hands as Tom Brokaw concluded the debate, McCain ambled right in front of the TelePrompTer. "And you're in the way of my script there, if you will move," Brokaw chuckled as he tried to crane his head around McCain's obstructing body. Not a huge issue, but another example of McCain and technology just not getting along in this world.

2. Herbert Hoover. Criticizing Obama's tax policies, McCain reminded the audience that "the last president to raise taxes during tough economic times was Herbert Hoover, and he practiced protectionism as well, which I'm sure we'll get to at some point." We're not sure portraying Obama as a modern-day Herbert Hoover will make a great impact on people born after the Depression.

1. Listing priorities. The moment that truly jumped out at us was when Brokaw asked the candidates to list three issues — health care, energy, and entitlement reform — in order of their priority. McCain went first, but needed Brokaw to repeat the three items he had to put in order, and wrote them down as Brokaw said them again. McCain started with entitlement reform, but sauntered back to his desk to glance at the sheet before moving on to energy. And it seemed that he took another peek at his notes once more before briefly moving to the topic of health care. Take a look:

Source: Daily Intel | 8 Oct 2008 | 8:05 pm

Henri Bendel No Longer Selling Fur

Photo: Getty Images

Gossip Girl's favorite boutique, Henri Bendel, just went fur-free. A spokeswoman for the store said it was a decision of their parent company, Limited Brands, which "does not sell any products that are made from or contain fur." So if you want a mink stole or chinchilla earmuffs or even the fanciest of Ugg boots, you'll have to go elsewhere this fall. Not that anyone can afford that stuff these days anyway. [Nylon]

Source: The Cut | 8 Oct 2008 | 7:50 pm

Film ads to run during Oscar telecast

Front Page: Academy votes to ease ban on movie promos -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences board of governors voted Tuesday night to ease its longstanding ban on movie advertisements running in the Oscar telecast.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 8 Oct 2008 | 7:48 pm

'Opus' coming to an end

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 7:42 pm

Joe Sacco Visits Chechnya in Exclusive Comics Excerpt From Mia Kirshner’s ‘I Live Here’

Illustration: Courtesy of Pantheon Books.

Mia Kirshner's best known as an actress who's played edgy roles from Exotica's young stripper to The L Word's Jenny, the character fans love to hate. Surprisingly, though, Kirshner's first book, I Live Here, comes out this month; more surprisingly, it's a touching, gorgeously produced, and thoughtfully edited compilation of stories from the world's trouble spots. Exploring war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing in Burma, globalization in Mexico, and AIDS in Malawi, I Live Here combines reportage, photography, fiction, and comics to create a group portrait of the lives of refugees and displaced people worldwide.

One of the most powerful parts of I Live Here is a newly published comic by Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and the world's foremost graphic journalist. Vulture is proud to present an exclusive excerpt from "Chechen War, Chechen Women," by Joe Sacco, from I Live Here, edited by Mia Kirshner, J.B. MacKinnon, Paul Shoebridge, and Michael Simons.

Source: Vulture | 8 Oct 2008 | 7:30 pm

Bundle Up With 120 Cozy Fall Sweaters

Snuggly! Clockwise from top left, Hoodie by Converse by John Varvatos, Trail Blaze Cardigan by Dorothy Lee, Konin Sweater by Diane Von Furstenberg, Kenny Cardigan by DKNY Jeans, Sweater Coat by Express
Photo: A.J. Wilhelm

You don't need to buy puffy vests and winter coats just yet. Because until it gets really cold, we're in that awkward temperature zone we like to call Sweater Season. And this year, you can wear seven at once! Pile 'em on, people, because layering is in and we love it. To help jump-start your sweater collection, our latest Shop-A-Matic brings you 120 options for men and women, from V-necks to pullovers to cardigans. And with 66 under $200, we're sure you can find one in your budget. So, bundle up! Check out five of our favorites after the jump.

Chunky Fur-Lined Zip Hoodie by Converse by John Varvatos
Price: $395
Why we like it: The fur-lined hood is luxurious, and this is warm enough to wear instead of a jacket.

Trail Blaze Cardigan by Dorothy Lee
Price: $196
Why we like it: The asymmetrical shape is a nice twist on the traditional cardigan.

Konin Sweater by Diane Von Furstenberg
Price: $374
Why we like it: The gray, pink, and white blocked pattern is spiffy, the mohair is supersoft, and the dipped V-neck back adds a sexy detail.

Kenny Cardigan by DKNY Jeans
Price: $70
Why we like it: The mix of gray and yellow add a pop of color to the standard striped cardigan.

Sweater Coat by Express
Price: $75
Why we like it: This thick, cozy knit is another standout coat substitute.

Shop-A-Matic Fall Sweaters

Source: The Cut | 8 Oct 2008 | 7:20 pm

Michigan Democrats Draft Tina Fey

Photo: Getty Images

Republicans in Michigan, upset that John McCain has suspended his campaign there, are petitioning hilarious Alaskan vice-presidential hopeful Palin to visit their state. Meanwhile, Democrats, in a possible attempt to confuse local news reporters, are circulating a petition of their own asking Fey to also visit Michigan. [Ben Smith/Politico]

Source: Vulture | 8 Oct 2008 | 7:14 pm

Top actor did it all (even sang) for new film

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 6:37 pm

Video: Anna Piaggi’s Screen Test

Artist Jeremy Kost finished up his Parisian adventures by shooting one last screen test. After Valentino, Lagerfeld, and DVF, who could possibly follow? The legendary editor Anna Piaggi, who has a cultlike following in the fashion realm. Watch as she stares you down with her lined eyes. We dare you to look away.

Related: See more videos by Jeremy Kost.

Source: The Cut | 8 Oct 2008 | 6:37 pm

Marco Zanini to Helm Rochas?

Marco Zanini
Photo: Getty Images

The house of Rochas closed operations two years ago owing to financial difficulties, but Procter & Gamble is bringing it back. New Rochas ready-to-wear will debut in March 2009, and word on the street is Marco Zanini is in talks to head-design. You may recall Zanini presented the first collection for revived Halston back in February. He then got sacked in July, even though he was said to have designed the spring 2009 collection that walked last month. Bigwigs at Procter & Gamble say they're looking at a number of candidates for the position. But considering Zanini's Halston wares sold well overseas despite mixed reviews, he might not be a bad choice.

Marco Zanini in Play for Rochas [Fashion Week Daily]
The Return Of Rochas [British Vogue]

Source: The Cut | 8 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

"City of Ember" Lights Up the Big Apple (Fashion Wire Daily)

Fashion Wire Daily - The fantasy film "City of Ember" lit up New York City on Tuesday night, as the movie's veteran stars Bill Murray, Tim Robbins and Martin Landau joined youngsters Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway and director Gil Kenan at the glittery screening.

Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 8 Oct 2008 | 5:43 pm

Travis Barker Says He's 'Thankful to Be Alive' After Crash

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who always has been afraid of flying, says he's glad to be alive after suffering severe burns in a fiery plane crash last month.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 5:35 pm

Hannity renews contract with Fox

Front Page: New deal with FNC runs through 2012 -- Cable yakmeister Sean Hannity has reupped with Fox News Channel in a deal that runs through 2012.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 8 Oct 2008 | 5:34 pm

Jacques Brel died of lung cancer in 1978

Belgian-born singer Jacques Brel is seen in his dressing room before a concert at the Olympia music hall in Paris in 1966. Dozens of records, notebooks, guitars and knick-knacks that once belonged to the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 8 Oct 2008 | 5:31 pm

Daniel Craig reveals cosmetic surgery after set mishap

James Bond actor Daniel Craig, seen here in July 2008, revealed in a magazine interview that he has had cosmetic surgery after being injured on the set of the latest Bond movie.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 8 Oct 2008 | 5:24 pm

Anti-religious film preaches to converted (Reuters)

Reuters - In Bill Maher's new film "Religulous," the comedian says he wants his fellow non-believers to "come out of the closet" to counter what he views as religion's dangerous influence on the world.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 8 Oct 2008 | 4:44 pm

Brit Back to Court? Driving Case May Go On

Spears faces trial for driving without a valid license after 2007 hit-and-run.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 4:44 pm

Superman's Father Dies ... Again

DC Comics has killed off Clark Kent's Earth father with a heart attack. In Action Comics .870, out Wednesday, Superman can't hear his mom's cries for help in time to save Jonathan Kent.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 4:25 pm

Superman's dad is dead ... again

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 3:38 pm

Time-Traveling 'Life on Mars' Finally Lands

Detective series went through many incarnations before finding a home on TV.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 3:13 pm

FOX411: Grammy Wars: Alicia Keys Beats Beyonce

Oh, what a good Grammy fight there could have been for Best Song and Record between Keys and Beyonce.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 3:09 pm

Dan Rather's Lawyer Says He Lost Income Due to CBS 'Fraud'

Dan Rather could have made millions of dollars more per year if CBS had not defrauded him before firing him, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:51 pm

Nick Nolte Escapes His Burning Home

Nolte scrapes arm, inhales smoke as he escapes from burning Malibu home.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:50 pm

Travis Barker: I'm Doing the Best I Can

Ex-Blink 182 drummer thankful to be alive after Learjet crash.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:49 pm

Jamie Lynn Spears' Baby's Dad Says He Wasn't Unfaithful

Jamie Lynn Spears' baby's father says he was never unfaithful to Britney's little sister.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:45 pm

T.I. follows 'Trail' to top spot

Front Page: Jennifer Hudson disc debuts in second spot -- T.I.'s sixth album "Paper Trail" (Grand Hustle/Atlantic) came in at No. 1, selling 568,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan data, as six rookies made it into the top 10.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:45 pm

Queen Latifah: I Don't Care If You Think I'm Gay

"I don't feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don't care if people think I'm gay or not," she said. "Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway."
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:30 pm

Could Tina Fey Bring Down McCain-Palin?

Her spot-on impersonation of Sarah Palin gets as much talk as the VP candidate.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:22 pm

Peter Cook Blames Christie Brinkley for His Affair

Peter Cook blames ex-wife Christie Brinkley's lack of emotional support for his affair, he tells Barbara Walters.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:20 pm

Barker: 'Grateful to be here' after plane crash

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:09 pm

Nolte escapes fire; $3 mil in damage to home

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 2:07 pm

Pop Tarts: Holly Moves Out of Hugh Hefner's Master Bedroom

Despite Hugh Hefner’s claim to Pop Tarts at the recent FOX REALLY Awards that he and his three leading ladies are all still an item, his number one gal Holly Madison is getting ready to bunny-hop into the "real world."
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 1:46 pm

Bill Murray: 'I was just dead, just broken'

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 12:50 pm

'Mentalist' gets off to hot start

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 8 Oct 2008 | 12:34 pm

Paris Hilton Gets Advice for 'Fake' Presidential' Campaign

Socialite Paris Hilton released a new video in her bid to become the next "fake" president, and this time solicited advice from former "The West Wing" president Martin Sheen.
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 12:32 pm

Movie Focuses on Billy Graham's Early Years

"Billy: The Early Years" focuses on Graham's life as a teenager growing up on a dairy farm in Charlotte through his years as a young man, when he became a super-evangelist, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to his preaching tour "crusades."
Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Oct 2008 | 12:23 pm