The Latest Threat to Goldman's Brand
cityfile · 08/13/09 08:59AM
It's been a bruising few weeks for Goldman Sachs what with the tough questions about the role the firm played in the mortgage meltdown and subsequent bailout, and any special treatment it may have received from Washington officials like former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. But it looks like the firm's lawyers now have one more headache to deal with: the dude in Thailand who is selling unauthorized (and terribly chintzy) Goldman-branded "keychain watches" on Ebay for $9.95 a pop. "Makes a great gift for someone," reads the ad. It doesn't specify who this "someone" is. But if you're looking to give a friend at the firm a way to count down the minutes until his gigantic bonus shows up in his checking account, you probably should make a move before Goldman's lawyers do. [Ebay]
Yale Press Sides With Religious Fanatics Over Own Author
Hamilton Nolan · 08/13/09 08:41AMWhich Actor Wants His Wife To Keep Her Grubby Mitts Off His Movie?
Brian Moylan · 08/13/09 08:40AMSpotted
cityfile · 08/13/09 08:30AM
Gwyneth Paltrow getting into her SUV in the Hamptons ... Calvin Klein walking in the West Village ... Elle Macpherson walking in Tribeca ... Antonio Sabato Jr. leaving his hotel ... Michelle Trachtenberg standing outside her trailer on the set of Gossip Girl, and later posing for photographers with an umbrella ... Jon Hamm leaving ABC Studios ... Eric Bana walking out of the Trump International Hotel with wife Rebecca Gleeson ... Justin Long on the set of Going the Distance ... Rihanna partying at Greenhouse in SoHo... and Ashton Kutcher standing on the set of A Beautiful Life downtown.
Bernie Laid Bare
cityfile · 08/13/09 08:01AM
There are about 20 books about Bernie Madoff scheduled to be published over the next few months. Let's hope only one gets into what Bernie was like in bed. Cheryl Weinstein, who says she lost her entire life savings to the fraudster, plans to detail an affair she supposedly had with Madoff in her upcoming book, Madoff's Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie, and Me. And according to a spokesman for St. Martin's Press, in addition to details of the affair, "the hardcover book will include photographs and some intimate descriptions of Madoff." [Bloomberg]
Baldwin Lists, Welch Adds On
cityfile · 08/13/09 07:18AM
• Alec Baldwin has put his longtime co-op in the Eldorado on Central Park West on the market for $8.9 million. He's reportedly thinking about trading it in for a four-bedroom apartment at the Dakota, which has been reduced from $24 million to $12.5 million over the past year. [NYP]
• Former GE CEO Jack Welch is in contract to buy a three-bedroom pad at One Beacon Court that's next door to the condo he already owns. The 2,669-square-foot space was most recently listed for $8.995 million. [NYP, BHS]
• New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and his wife, Robin Wells, have paid $1.7 million for former Times reporter Joseph B. Treaster's three-bedroom co-op at 110 Riverside Drive. Meanwhile, the couple is currently in contract to sell their former apartment, a one-bedroom at 304 West 89th Street that was most recently listed for $599,000. [NYO, Corcoran]
Minka Kelly Does Not Care For Kate Hudson
The Cajun Boy · 08/13/09 07:17AMHappy Birthday
cityfile · 08/13/09 06:41AM
Janice Min, who recently stepped down as the editor of Us Weekly, is celebrating her 40th birthday today. Martha Nelson, the woman who oversees People, is turning 57. Weatherman Sam Champion is 48. Sebastian Stan of Gossip Girl is turning 26. Danny Bonaduce is 50. Author and screenwriter Tom Perrotta is turning 48. Agnes Gund, the former president of the Museum of Modern Art, is 71. Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is turning 76. And ex-Cuban president Fidel Castro turns 83 today.
The Olsens' Night Out, Tension at Yankee Stadium
cityfile · 08/13/09 06:00AM
• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and their boyfriends, Nate Lowman and Justin Bartha, had super evening out the other night. It involved steak, making out, tickling, and "chain-smoking cigarettes until after 4am." [P6]
• Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez aren't on the friendliest terms these days. Now things have turned frosty between their respective girlfriends, Minka Kelly and Kate Hudson. [P6]
• Heidi Pratt appears in the new issue of Playboy. But you won't find any nude pics of her in the magazine. She says she won't strip down completely until after she has a few "upgrades" performed by her plastic surgeon. [Us]
• Kourtney Kardashian is pregnant. So who's the father? Either she's not saying because she plans to use the news to gin up ratings for her crappy reality show, or becaue she doesn't know herself. One or the other. [E!]
German Quentin Tarantino Fans Are Not Impressed By Quentin Tarantino
The Cajun Boy · 08/13/09 05:44AMThere's Just No Way Sarah Palin's Writing Her Facebook Notes
The Cajun Boy · 08/13/09 04:59AMHeidi Montag's Playboy Spread Confirmed As Impossibly Lame
The Cajun Boy · 08/13/09 02:32AMDick Cheney Hates George W. Bush for Being a Wuss
The Cajun Boy · 08/13/09 01:32AMReal Housewives NeNe Is Undeterred in Her Pursuit of Anderson Cooper
The Cajun Boy · 08/12/09 11:46PM'It’s Kind of an American Apparel Ad Come to Life'
The Cajun Boy · 08/12/09 10:11PMAre You On Anna Wintour's Guest List?
The Cajun Boy · 08/12/09 09:06PMLive Blogging Top Chef Masters, Week 9
The Cajun Boy · 08/12/09 08:00PMGoogle Cancels Prom
Ryan Tate · 08/12/09 07:38PMThe Knives Are Out For JCPenney
cityfile · 08/12/09 07:06PM
• Cintra Wilson is not impressed with the NYC's very first JCPenney: "Why would this perennially square department store bother to reanimate itself in Manhattan—in the sleekest, scariest fashion city in America—during a hair-raising economic downturn, without taking the opportunity to vigorously rebrand itself?" Making matters worse, she says even the mannequins are obese: "It's like a headless wax museum devoted entirely to the cast of Roseanne." [NYT]
• Contrary to recent rumors, Kanye West is not interning at the Gap. [FWD]
• It looks like Escada is the latest fashion house to go bust. [Bloomberg]
• Anna Wintour will appear on Dave Letterman's show on August 24. (Set your DVR!) In other Anna-related news (and despite recent budget cuts at Condé Nast), the Vogue editrix will be making the trip to London Fashion Week.












