Alan Colmes' Goodbye

cityfile · 11/26/08 09:42AM

As if spending the last eight years as Sean Hannity's punching bag on Fox News wasn't humiliating enough, watch the crew of Hannity & Colmes break into laughs as Alan Colmes announces his plan to leave the program at the end of the year. Your colleagues will miss you dearly, Alan.

The Cameraman Speaks: He's Fired, But the Sex Tape Couple Keep Their Jobs

Hamilton Nolan · 11/26/08 09:29AM

The ad agency employee who filmed two of his coworkers screwing in the office is obviously not shy (notwithstanding the end of his infamous video clip, where he runs away). He's keeping his name anonymous, but other than that he seems happy to talk. If you believe the claims of people using pseudonyms, the intrepid cameraman was chattering away in the comments section at Agency Spy; he emailed us yesterday, (Correction: the person who emailed us was a distributor of the clip, not the cameraman), saying "It's been a very fun 48 hours"; and he gave an interview to Asylum about how his cinematic work got him (unjustly?) fired: He says that late Friday afternoon, he and two coworkers gathered around to watch these people fucking in the office. He was recording the clip on his cell phone, and the other two were taking photos.

Fake Fur Masquerading As Real

cityfile · 11/26/08 09:28AM

What kind of a strange world are we living in when fashion designers are using real fur, but pretending it's fake, in order to entice shoppers? According to a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society, various stores including Saks, Bloomingdales, and Neiman Marcus have for years been selling coats labeled as faux-fur that in fact were made from fluffy dead animals. Hey, Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow can't tell the difference between fake and real, so why should anyone else? [WSJ/Runway]

Which Singer Might Come Out Of The Closet On National Television?

Richard Lawson · 11/26/08 09:26AM

According to yesterday's palaver, you all seem to think that Katherine Heigl is getting canned from Grey's Anatomy. To which we say duhhh. Anyway, today we have a socialite who doesn't know she's broke, a very open same sex couple, a maybe-gonna-come-out R&B singer, and a celebrity couple on the skids. 1) "Which publicity-loving socialite has a set of parents-in-law who can't keep up with their bills? The upper East Side couple keep moving from apartment to apartment to avoid paying their obligations, including more than $30,000 in medical bills. One posh Park Avenue doctor has even hired a private investigator to track down the pair's current residence to get them to pay up. Their daughter-in-law still thinks they're flush with cash and, even though she doesn't have any income of her own, continues to spend, spend, spend." [NYDN] 2) "Which same sex couple, who publicly claim to be devoted to one another, actually enjoy a very open relationship - regularly picking up new partners in sleazy Soho strip clubs?" [Mirror] 3) "The husband is a celebrity, and the wife is a B- list actress who is pregnant. I know I usually give more identifying information, but this one time I think it is best not to. One of the things about this is that there have been two different versions flying around town. One is that he has been cheating on her not with anyone in particular, but basically just a string of no names that are attracted to him. The other version is they both cheated. I've met her, but never met him. So, with that in mind, I'm going to have to say that I don't see her ever cheating and that he, in fact is the one doing the cheating. While she's pregnant? That's pretty low." [CDaN] 4) "Which popular R&B singer is seriously considering coming out as a gay man on an upcoming TV show? It seems that the show’s producer and the singer’s ire over the whole Proposition 8 debacle have inspired him to come out of the closet in a very public way.We’ll see if he has the nerve to actually go through with it." [BlindGossip] 5) "Which celebrity couple has relenquished control of the family to their offspring? This goes beyond spoiling. They let the child/children make all their own decisions about education, food, clothing, travel, and activities. Before you know it, the kid/kids will be picking the parents’ projects and handling the money. The parents seem to think that the decision-making will result in more self-assured adult/s. However, right now it’s just the tail wagging the dog. Other family members are concerned that some of these decisions may be endangering the health and safety of all involved." [BlindGossip]

Fox 5 Goes Hunting for Dick Fuld

cityfile · 11/26/08 09:13AM

Fox 5 reporter Arnold Diaz paid a visit to Dick Fuld's house in Greenwich clad in a faux leather trench coat as part of one of his "Shame on You" segments this week. It's not quite as satisfying as Diaz's encounter with Martha Stewart a couple of weeks ago, and, unfortunately, he doesn't get a chance to pester Fuld personally like one of Bill O'Reilly's operatives managed to do with ex-Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal a month ago. On the plus side, though, he does get chewed out by a Eastern European man (Fuld's butler, perhaps?), and the police eventually turn up and force Diaz off the property. Video of the encounter is here. [Dealbreaker]

Shockingly, New Yorkers Not Better Off

cityfile · 11/26/08 08:44AM

In what will undoubtedly come as a huge surprise to you, a new poll finds that 56 percent of New York City residents say they're worse off financially than they were a year ago. [NYT]

Say Hello to Peter Orszag

cityfile · 11/26/08 08:33AM

If you were hoping the people Barack Obama picked for his new administration would be more open and honest than the people who consistently lied their way through the last eight years, well, don't get your hopes up! Meet Peter Orszag, the man Obama tapped to lead the Congressional Budget Office and the proud owner of the worst toupee Washington has seen since the rug atop James Traficant's dome departed town. [Buzzfeed]

Skinny Models: They're Just Like Us!

cityfile · 11/26/08 08:02AM

If you needed any proof that models are the way they are due to a blessed combination of genetics, speedy metabolism, and an active lifestyle, the group of mannequins surveyed by The Cut mostly insist—and why would they lie?—that tomorrow they totally plan to stuff themselves with food. Chanel Iman says "I love to eat," Ali Michaels says "of course!" she plans to overindulge, while Lindsay Ellingson's favorite Thanksgiving food is her mom's pumpkin pie "with lots of whipped cream." Vegan Ali Michael, though, will eat "a simple meal of steamed greens, beans, avocado, and maybe even a little piece of raw dark chocolate." Sounds tragic, but at least she won't be obliged to purge/spend five hours on the treadmill/cancel her next shoot after.

Mort Zuckerman Fights for His Own

cityfile · 11/26/08 07:52AM

Why was real estate developer and Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman so quick to come to Citigroup's defense with no less than four separate appearances on MSNBC yesterday? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the bank is one of his largest tenants? Wayne Barrett explains. [VV]

Happy Birthday

cityfile · 11/26/08 07:29AM

Tina Turner turns 69 today, can you believe it? Natasha Bedingfield is celebrating her 27th birthday. Artist Kara Walker is 39. Financier (and former billionaire) Michael Novogratz is 44. Cartoonist Roz Chast is 54. Actress Garcelle Beauvais is 42. Actor Peter Facinelli is 35. And Cicciolina, the former Italian porn star and ex-wife of Jeff Koons, is 57 today.

A-Rod's Two-Way Thanksgiving

Ryan Tate · 11/26/08 06:59AM
  • Alex's Rodriguez's people did their best to spread word he wasn't going to ditch his kids and ex-wife at Thanksgiving to see Madonna in New York, as had been previously rumored. After everyone duly printed the Yankees slugger would be in Miami with his family instead, it emerged Madonna would accompany Rodriguez to Miami, via private jet. Should make for interesting dinner conversation!

A-Rod and Madonna Head South

cityfile · 11/26/08 06:50AM

♦ It's the question that has been keeping you up for days now: Where is Alex Rodriguez going to spend Thanksgiving? First it was reported that A-Rod planned to stay in New York. Now People now says he plans to have dinner with his ex-wife and their two kids in Florida. But Madonna is on the scene, too! Maybe in the spirit of the holiday, they'll all just join together and be thankful for what they have? Kidding! [People, TMZ]
♦ The parents of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal are broke, apparently. [P6]
♦ Did Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt really get married in Mexico or was it just an elaborate publicity stunt? [AP]

The End of the Rally?

cityfile · 11/26/08 06:20AM

♦ Don't expect another winning day on Wall Street: Stock futures pointed lower following grim news about unemployment and consumer spending. [WSJ]
♦ Consumer spending fell 1 percent in October, the steppest decline in seven years. And the four-week average of new jobless claims hasn't been this high since January 1983. [CNN, WSJ]
♦ Good news: Shares of Citigroup appear to have stabilized. Bad news: Not everyone is convinced the rescue plan will be enough to keep Citigroup solvent. And it's never a good sign of things to come when your head of human resources suddenly jumps ship. [WSJ]

The Infuriating New Face Of Poverty

Ryan Tate · 11/26/08 06:04AM

At left is a picture the Times is running on A1 this morning, the day before Thanksgiving. It depicts a Florida mom showing off all the useless crap she was able to scrounge for daughter McKenna (!), like a fake plastic kitchen, thanks to a "noble sacrifice" this year: The mom will bravely go without this season's new designer jeans, according to the accompanying story. Notice that she seems to be nicely up-to-date with last season's pricey denim; that she is standing in a garage larger than many apartments; that it seems to be furnished with an operative extra refrigerator; and that discarded toys (from prior Christmases?) are plainly visible in plastic boxes in the background. This typifies sacrifice in America today? The coming depression is so going to eat the nation alive, and the world will laugh, because we deserve it.

An Evening with Lydia Hearst

cityfile · 11/26/08 05:51AM

Want to spend Thanksgiving Eve in the company of heiress/former Page Six magazine columnist Lydia Hearst? You're in luck! She's hosting a party tonight. And perhaps because these are lean economic times, the event is scheduled to take place at Lucky Strike, the bowling alley on West 42nd Street. You shouldn't have much trouble snagging a ticket. At least if the aggressive promotional effort on Craigslist and NorthJersey.com is any indication!

No Print Media Welfare — Except For Me

Ryan Tate · 11/26/08 05:09AM

Web publishing zealot Jeff Jarvis like to yell Darwinian slogans at print journalists . "There is no divine right for newsroom jobs," he wrote earlier this month. "Nor is printing and trucking an eternal verity of the field." It was surprising, then, to hear the media futurist's complaint about today's cover story on him in the Observer: The paper didn't promote his new dead-trees book! And after he gave the reporter so much of his precious time:

Obama Clinging To Forbidden Blackberry

Ryan Tate · 11/26/08 02:43AM

The president-elect is surely familiar with the stages of grief from that time he recently "quit" sweet, luscious cigarettes, forever. Sad, then, that several weeks after he was elected, Barack Obama is still in the "bargaining" stage about losing his Blackberry, which presidents aren't allowed to have, because then the laws would work as they are intended to and the public would know what they're up to. Barbara Walters recently asked Obama about losing the email device, and he laughed to hide the tears (next grief stage: "depression"), and said he's in talks to keep his precious 'berry:

MSNBC Seeks Citigroup Expertise From Owner Of Citigroup Center

Ryan Tate · 11/25/08 11:26PM

Citigroup is a pathetic loser of a corporation having needed three bailouts in as many decades. "Another large exposure for uncertain benefits," the corporate apologists at the Wall Street Journal editorial page declared of the latest Citi rescue. But the global banking giant is one of the largest tenants of Mort Zuckerman, the owner of Citigroup's world headquarters and of the nearby 59-story Citigroup Center, which Citi partly occupies. Why is NBC News allowing Zuckerman to pimp a rescue for Citi?