The Eight-Day Week
Wednesday, July 23rd
Homes is where the suburbs are! But first: Empty restaurant tables and Batman on IMAX be damned—get us out of this hellhole! We’re tired of maintaining our pedicure, and to top it off, we smell … funny. Meanwhile, if we have to read one more thing about Megan McCain’s dinner with Heidi Montag (John McCain’s shameless ploy to align himself with skin tone) or The New Yorker’s “brave” Obama cover, we’re moving to Daytona to be a cocktail waitress at the Holiday Inn! Leave it to Joyce Carol Oates to keep the intellectual torch burning here through the long slog of summer, reading from her latest—and, at our count, her 638th—book, My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike, at the Bryant Park Reading Room.
The Transom
Oh Ciccone! Chance Collision With Madonna's Not-So-Buff Bro
To its surprise, the Transom ran into designer Christopher Ciccone—SMACK!—outside the Rouge Wine Bar at Paris Commune in the West Village. Madonna’s short, paunchy but sensual brother had flown in from London early that evening and was flying to Los Angeles the following morning—part of the whirlwind press tour surrounding his book, Life With My Sister Madonna (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $26).
Wearing jeans, black sneakers, a tight black T-shirt and a veil of cinnamon-inflected cologne, he was there to see aspiring Broadway star (and dear friend) Ryan Raftery’s one-man show, Ryan Raftery and Friends: A Solo Act.
“There are plenty of things I left out of the book, and things that the lawyers and editors took out,” Mr.
The New York World
Roll Over, Tom Edison!
July 28, 2008
Slideshow: Roll
Over, Tom Edison!Ross Field has invented a portable stabilizing pole for a passenger in a subway or bus. It attaches to the ceiling with a suction cup. This comes in handy when the train is so crowded that you can’t reach the center pole or side bars. (And the cute girl in the tank top asks you to please not use her shoulder for balance, ever again.) You’ll also save on Purell. Patent No. US 7,367,347 B2 (May 6, 2008)
Apparently, there are some pet owners who like to read aloud to their pets as a way of spending time together.
Men of Manhattan
Don't Bogie That Beer! Secrets of a Hamptons Caddyshack
“It’s kind of a different way of life, because you can really just live your life one loop at a time,” said Gunner of his life caddying at a very exclusive private Hamptons golf club which is often bathed in a nice ocean breeze. He’s 25; back home in Glasgow, he’s studying to be a dentist. “You always know you’re going back out the next day. So it’s quite a surreal environment. ”
“It’s just something you do between sessions,” said Coco, Gunner’s 22-year-old friend from Glasgow. By “between sessions” he means between bouts of drinking.
While the work itself—digging around for balls in the fescue, lugging two sets of golf bags, praying for the moment when you put that flag in the 18th hole—might at times feel like grunt work, the way of life in the shack—two long pine planks that run along either side of a covered tent, tucked away behind a well-groomed hedge—is rarely dull.
Style
Lorne Michaels Has a Stalker
According to The New York Post, Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels has a stalker.
Evan Pidhajecky, a 31-year-old Long Island resident, didn't send Mr. Michaels love letters or threaten to commit suicide as Uma Thurman's personal stalker did earlier this year. Rather, he just wanted the SNL producer to admit that he had stolen his material for the show.
In a letter sent to Mr. Michaels in December, Mr. Pidhajecky claimed that Mr. Michaels overheard his private "conversations, singing and/or other utterances" and used it for the show without his permission. To make his case, Mr. Pidhajecky repeatedly called Mr. Michaels at his office and his home asking for a "chat." When the producer didn't respond, Mr. Pidhajecky started paying visits to Mr. Michaels' Central Park South apartment building. read more »
Morning Memo: Vivica's New Reality; Conrad's New Attitude; Gyllenhaal's New Jumpsuit
VH1 has yet another fashion-themed reality show coming this fall. The subtly titled Glam God is brought to you from stylist Phillip Bloch and Vivica A. Fox, and will crown the next celebrity stylist. [The Cut]
In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Katie Couric compared herself to Hillary Clinton, claiming that sexism is more tolerated than racism. [NY Daily News]
Lauren Conrad, who just last week bailed on a Humane Society charity event, has reportedly continued her diva behavior in the Hamptons this past weekend. After flying in via chopper to host a party at Lily Pond, Ms. Conrad arrived late and was anti-social. read more »
Dark Night For Christian Bale? His Lawyers Respond
Christian Bale's attorneys are denying allegations that the actor assaulted his mother and sister, reports Associated Press.
"Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister," his attorneys said. "Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale."
Fake Sex and the City Book Becomes Real
Remember that book we urged you to hurry up and write? The one retroactively endorsed and publicized by the Sex and the City movie?
Well, it seems that in a mere six weeks someone has already beat you to it. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the fictitious titled called Love Letters of Great Men, from which Carrie read love letters from Napoleon and Beethoven to Mr. Big in one of the film's scenes, has been thrown together by UK publisher Pan MacMillan to be released August 15th.
In June, after seeing SATC, hordes of loyal fans stormed Amazon.com, but were not able to find the book that didn't exist. read more »
Jay McInerney to Make an Appearance On Gossip Girl
Last night at an after-party for a private screening of Step Brothers on the roof of the Empire Hotel, 38-year-old Matthew Settle, who plays the young Brooklyn Dad on Gossip Girl, wanted to bum a cigarette. (He was obliged.)
"Well, Rufus is probably going to run into some trouble with his daughter," he said when The Daily Transom asked him about the future of his character. "The show is about kids finding their identities, and she begins to find hers through her designing. She's going to have to choose between her trade and her schooling, for which Rufus has sacrificed so much." read more »
Ooh, interesting.
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Lady Bunny To Save Kentucky Fried Chickens
Lady Bunny has joined with PETA to protest KFC's treatment of chickens, according to the organization's blog.
The nightlife Queen appears on a billboard at the intersection of Varick and Houston streets showing Ms. Bunny holding a bucket of KFC with the printed lettering, "Sometimes Big Bright Packages Contain Dirty Little Secrets."
On her website, Ms. Bunny writes, "I've always wanted to see my mug on a billboard—at least my fat country ass ain't selling KFC!"
"I didn't quite understand the slogan 'Sometimes Big Bright Packages Contain Dirty Secrets,'" she continues. "But I guess it's either a reference to the fact that I have cooties under my wig or that a have a dirty little penis which I'm concealing. (Both are true.)"
Ms. Bunny joins Pamela Anderson and Al Sharpton in supporting the campaign, "Kentucky Fried Cruelty."
[Via Gothamist]
Report: Christian Bale Arrested for Assaulting Mother and Sister
According to the Associated Press, Christian Bale was arrested this morning, spending four hours in a London police station after his mother and sister said that he assaulted them at the Dorchester Hotel in London Sunday night. He was released on bail.
At this time it's unclear exactly what happened. The incident occurred a day before the European premiere of The Dark Knight. Police reportedly didn't question the actor on Monday so as not to interfere with the movie's premiere.
When asked if Mr. Bale had been arrested, a London police spokesperson said that "a 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault," but did not refer to him by name.
Morning Memo: New Shows For Bravo; New Squeeze For Al Reynolds?
In addition to picking up Sarah Jessica Parker's American Artist, Bravo has also reportedly signed on a U.K. import called Fashion House to fill the void left by Project Runway. Fashion House will have contestants living in one house and working together to create an entire fashion line. [EW]
Meanwhile, Eli Holzman, creator of the show Stylista (premiering on the CW this fall), said he got the idea for the show after being rejected by Anna Wintour. [The Cut]
Al Reynolds, still dismissing gay rumors, has moved his campaign from YouTube to Miami Fashion Week, parading around with a woman who looked exactly like his ex-wife Star Jones. read more »
Olivia Palermo Decorates Apartment; Plans Career
Socialite Olivia Palermo has come a long way over the past couple of years. She left that whole Socialite Rank mess behind her, started dating Wilhelmina model Johannes Huebl, and according to this week's Page Six Magazine, she's even moved out of her parents' Upper East Side home.
“I'm so excited to be living in my own home,” said Ms. Palermo of her estimated $4,150 a month, one bedroom, Leonard Street apartment. “This is the space I love the most. You can see it the second you walk in. It represents me.”
And what represents her is a Jennifer Convertibles couch, a zebra-print rug for her walk-in closet, couch cushions with little circular mirrors befitting a college gal's bedroom and framed photos of Mr. read more »
