Golddiggers in the Spotlight

cityfile · 02/06/09 11:55AM

As far as media memes go, golddiggers are now like Somali pirates: the not-so-innocent repository for all our fears, fantasies, and ill-informed speculation. There they were, a low-profile subsection of society, going about their business of spending men's money, making themselves look pretty, and disdaining feminism. Now, not only are wealthy suitors in much shorter supply, but suddenly everyone has an opinion on the whys and wherefores of choosing to date rich.

The Friday Party Report

cityfile · 02/06/09 11:41AM

Andrew Saffir's Cinema Society hosted a screening of He's Just Not That Into You at the Tribeca Grand on Wednesday night. Guests at the screening and after-party, hosted by Stardoll and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, included Lindsay Price (left), Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl, Michael Kors, Amy Sacco, Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney, Rachel Roy, America Ferrera, Helena Christensen, Eva Amurri, Mamie Gummer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Maggie Rizer, Annelise Peterson, Zoe Kravitz, Lisa Bonet, Lorenzo Martone, Marina Rust Connor, Chris Benz, Christian Siriano, Reed Krakoff, Dori Cooperman, Taylor Momsen, Carson Kressley, Poppy Delevigne, Jane Seymour, Genevieve Jones, Patricia Clarkson, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Irina Pantaeva, Dylan Lauren, Jeff Gordon, Kiera Chaplin, Liam McMullan, Derek Blasberg, and one of the stars of the film, Ginnifer Goodwin. [PMc, Wireimage, VF, Style.com, NYO, FWD]

Judith Warner's Dreams of Our President

Pareene · 02/06/09 10:55AM

Were you wondering about the response of entitled comfortable menopausal women to the Obama presidency? No, you weren't, because those women are well-represented in our media, and you already knew they wanted to fuck the president.

Loss for News Corp., Cuts at the Journal

cityfile · 02/06/09 10:55AM

• News Corp. posted a $6.4 billion loss for the quarter after writing down half the value of Dow Jones, which it purchased in 2007. [Reuters, BN]
• The Wall Street Journal is laying off 14 people and will also be closing the newspaper's fashion bureau. [E&P, FWD]
• Rupert Murdoch says he has no plans to buy the Times. [E&P]
• The Grammys are on Sunday; here's what you can expect to see. [CNN]
• Chesley Sullenberger will be on 60 Minutes this weekend. [NYP]
• Congrats, ESPN! Sarah Palin says she named her baby in honor of the cable network's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut. [HuffPo]

More Looking for MILFs

cityfile · 02/06/09 10:33AM

If you're a woman between 40 and 60 and you were recently laid off from your finance job, perhaps you'd like to put on a bikini and show the world that you still have a hot bod? More magazine is looking for former Wall Street women to appear in its annual "Real-Women" swimsuit feature. Exhibitionist tendencies a plus! [More.com]

New York Times Subtly Bans Creativity

Hamilton Nolan · 02/06/09 10:27AM

Colors aren't just for looking at. They're also for making your brain do things! Science has produced a breakthrough new study about how colors can make reporters stop screwing around and get to work:

Manhattan Still Ridiculously Expensive

cityfile · 02/06/09 10:17AM

Yes, you really are a bit of masochist for living in New York. According to a new study, a New Yorker would have to make $123,322 a year to have the same standard of living as someone making $50,000 in Houston. Also? A $60,000 salary in Manhattan is equivalent to someone making $26,092 in Atlanta. [NYDN]

Bernie's Victims: The Map

cityfile · 02/06/09 10:02AM

Were you searching for a topographical representation of Bernie Madoff's victims? Your search is over. Zero Hedge took the addresses in places like Manhattan, Los Angeles, and Palm Beach, geocoded them, and then imported them into a mapping application. This is another example of the recession's silver lining: When you take the brain power on Wall Street that was once focused on making money and redirect it to other projects, great things can happen. Just imagine what would happen if you took all these hedge funders and focused them on a cure for cancer! [Zero Hedge]

Women to Outnumber Men in the Workplace

cityfile · 02/06/09 09:45AM

A terrifying cultural milestone is approaching, one that will further destroy the image of our nation's menfolk, already irrevocably sullied by Michael Phelps' bong-toking and Jeremy Piven's malingering and hairplugs: For the first time in America's history, women will outnumber men in the labor force! Since 82 percent of recent job losses effected men, statistics are likely to soon reveal that more than half the country's breadwinners are of the fairer sex.

The List: Sorting Through the Names

cityfile · 02/06/09 09:19AM

It's still unclear how many of the people on the "Madoff List" were truly victims of the Ponzi scheme. The trustee liquidating Madoff's financial firm has said that some of the people listed may have served as trustees or agents for other people who lost money, which may explain why some of the people who have stated publicly in recent weeks that they'd lost a fortune to the scheme don't appear at all. (Case in point: Ira Rennert has said he lost $200 million to Madoff's scheme, but his name does not appear in the 163-page document.) But it's interesting to go through the names anyway, and you don't even need to bother with the tedious task of scanning the PDF document: There's a Madoff victim search engine that has made the process much easier. Just point your browser here and you can look people up by address or name. After the jump, a long list of people who have turned up as possible victims in the last day or two.

Astor Home Back on the Market, Now Just $29 Million

cityfile · 02/06/09 08:34AM

• Brooke Astor's former duplex at 778 Park has returned to the market, two weeks after the Corcoran's Leighton Candler took down the listing. Stribling's Kirk Henckels is now offering the sprawling co-op for $29 million, which is $17 million less than it was first offered for when it hit the market last year. [Cityfile, Stribling]
• It looks like the rumor was true: Disgraced Fairfield Greenwich Group executive Charles Murphy has put his townhouse at 7 East 67th Street on the market for $37 million. Sotheby's Serena Boardman has the listing. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]
• Motoatsu Sakurai, Consul General of Japan and the former CEO of Mitsubishi International Corporation, has paid $1.9 million for a 17th floor apartment at 450 East 83rd street. [Cityfile]