There's a bizarre craze threatening the very fabric of society, but luckily the Wall Street Journal is bringing it to our attention so we can protect our children and alert Congress. "Inane pranks" are apparently sweeping cities: One recent weekend fake zombies "idly roamed" the streets in San Francisco, while in New York people in Union Square—get this—"danced to music no one else could hear."
Notwithstanding her dazzling performance as an extra in The Nanny Diaries last year, it seems Annie Churchill is now planning to give up on her acting career. Sort of. She's now launching "an e-commerce website in nine months or so that will have a magazine and a TV show attached to it, of which Ms. Churchill will be the host." Naturally. [NYO]
New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. met with the paper's employees yesterday to reassure them that everything is just fine at the Gray Lady and they have absolutely nothing to worry about even though bad-ass hedge funder Phil Falcone and now Mexican mogul Carlos Slim have significant stakes in the company. Sulzberger also demonstrated that he's totally in touch with what the kids are listening to these days on those newfangled little portable music players manufactured by Apple: His slideshow was set to the background of Coldplay's "Clocks." And some employees describe him as "tone deaf"? [NYO]
In case it hasn't quite dawned on everyone yet that the internet is a publicly available resource on which information you place about yourself may influence others' perceptions of you, job site Careerbuilder.com has surveyed employers about whether they check potential applicants' social networking profiles. It turns out 1 in 5 do (or at least admitted to it), and, surprise, often wind up junking resumes based on what they see, like stories of drinking or drugging, and "provocative or inappropriate photographs." But presumably all of the above puts you at an advantage for some jobs, like working for Eliot Spitzer or an Olsen.
Marc Jacobs and boyfriend Lorenzo Martone kissing while eating outside at Pastis ... Liv Tyler walking in the Village with her son ... Andre Leon Talley walking with Venus Williams while wearing peep toe shoes ... Keira Knightley taking a stroll with a friend ... Diane von Furstenberg chatting with a group of women at a Fashion Week event ... Claire Danes and Jada Pinkett Smith posing for pics in the front row at Zac Posen's show ... Tobey Maguire being followed by paparazzi while jogging on the street uptown ... Natalie Portman walking under an umbrella on her way to the Rodarte show ... Heidi Klum en route to Bryant Park ... Tyra Banks standing outside and surrounded by fans ... Blake Lively striking a pose in Bryant Park ... Agyness Deyn looking like she's about to trip while making her way into the Kors show ... Goldie Hawn exiting a store ... Jessica Simpson leaving her uptown hotel en route to the Letterman show ... Eva Mendes going somewhere in a hurry ... Ricky Gervais standing on a street corner and talking to a woman ... and Lindsay Lohan leaving a party, followed closely behind by Samantha Ronson.
Society reporter David Patrick Columbia headed over to David and Danielle Ganek's "sprawling apartment" yesterday, which just so happens to be the abode at 740 Park where Jacqueline Bouvier was raised and which the hedge fund titan and contemporary art collector purchased for $19 million a few years back. Columbia was kind enough to post some pictures, too. In the background: A rather creepy mural by Piotr Uklanski of actors portraying Nazis. How, uh, charming. [NYSD]
Author James Frey turns 39 today. Another author who has dealt with a bit of controversy is celebrating, too: Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of Jerry Seinfeld, is 37. Restaurateur Stephen Hanson is turning 59. Sculptor Robert Gober is 54. Photographer Nan Goldin is 55. Emmy Rossum is turning 22. Actor Benjamin McKenzie is 30. Book designer Chip Kidd is turning 44. Blogger and former magazine dude Jeff Jarvis is 54. Literary agent David McCormick is 47. Ben Folds is 42. And two American Idol winners are celebrating: Jennifer Hudson is 27 and Ruben Studdard is 30. On Saturday, former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams will turn 40, Stella McCartney will turn 37, Ben Savage will be 28, and Fiona Apple will celebrate her 31st. On Sunday: Sex and the City producer Michael Patrick King will be 54, Nas will celebrate his 35th, model Carmen Kass will be 30, and former financial titan (and Mike Bloomberg's former boss) John Gutfreund will be 79.
New York Public Library president Paul LeClerc (pictured here giving a first-edition copy of Harry Potter the respect it so very much deserves) and his wife Dr. Judith Ginsberg have sold a co-op apartment at 1170 Fifth Avenue for $3.3 million. That doesn't necessarily mean they're leaving the building on 98th and Fifth. Property records indicate they've owned an apartment a few floors up, on the 12th floor, since 2005. [Cityfile]
Back in June, socialite Olivia Palermo told the Observer that she had no plans to appear in a spin-off of The Hills starring Whitney Port, who's launching a show about her time working for Kelly Cutrone's fashion PR firm, People's Revolution. She told the same thing to Page Six magazine in July: "I want to be a serious actress," she told the mag. Perhaps the acting didn't work out? Grammar-challenged society hanger-on Emily Brill, who was in talks to appear in another socialite reality show alongside botorious social climber Devorah Rose, says Palermo is, in fact, participating in the program. [Emily Brill]
"What mystery gifts do celebrities and politicians get in those green rooms where they wait before appearing on television shows?" Jennifer 8. Lee of the Times pays a visit to the set of Stephen Colbert's show and finds bottled water, tooth whitener, Altoids, gum, ground coffee, tooth whitener, and Vodka. [City Room]
Aspiring novelists, thinking of paying tens of thousands of dollars for a demanding MFA program and honing your craft in impoverished obscurity for years? Don't bother, just do like Lauren Conrad and display your dazzling intellect and facility for language by, like, staring blankly into space and squeezing out a tear when there's, like, so much drama between Lo and Audrina. And, bingo, a three book deal will be yours! [People]
