If you're a fan of MTV's Jersey Shore, your next birthday party just got about ten times more exciting. Nicole Polizzi, or "Snooki" as she's known to the universe, will gladly turn up in person—and hopefully do some of her very impressive backflips for you—for "$2,000 plus transportation." [NYC The Blog]
A reader asks: "Why does Melania Trump look so unhappy all the time?" Good question! We'd never really noticed it before, but Donald Trump's third wife (and the mother of his fifth child) does look pretty miserable in most photos. Maybe this is to be expected when you realize that despite the lavish lifestyle you lead and all the material possessions you've accumulated, you're still married to Donald Trump? An attempt by the Slovenian-born ex-model to look sexy? We have no clue, but some photographic evidence of Melania's misery is below. And if you have something you'd like us to look into, feel free to let us know.
You were aware that taxi drivers aren't supposed to drive with one hand on the steering wheel and a cellphone in the other. But cabbies aren't allowed to talk on hands-free headsets either—or even wear them, even if they're not actually talking to anyone—and yesterday the Taxi and Limousine Commission approved stricter penalties for drivers who don't comply. Drivers can now lose their licenses after three violations, since research shows that drivers who talk on cellphones are four times as likely to cause a crash. And because even under perfectly ideal circumstances, sitting in the backseat of a cab is still probably the most dangerous thing you'll do all day. [NYT]
Interested in a beach bag that says "Westhampton Beach?" An Southampton-branded umbrella? A wallet with "East Hampton Beach" stamped on it? We can't imagine you would be. Nevertheless, we're also guessing the powers that be on the East End of Long Island won't be happy to hear that they no longer control their own names. This week, a variety of Hamptons-related trademarks were granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington. And it isn't a local who has the right to exploit them in the future. It's a German national who operates a garment factory in Hong Kong who does. A few of the trademarks Mr. Frank Fleischer acquired this week are listed below.
Credit where credit's due: Not every Wall Street chieftain is planning to take home home an eight-figure bonus at the end of the year. Outgoing Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack announced today that he is foregoing a bonus in 2009 for the third year in a row. "That makes him the first of the major banking chiefs to do so, at a time when many outside the industry are criticizing the probable return of outsized bonuses as these firms return to profitability." [NYT]
Ashley Dupre leaving WB11's studios on East 42nd Street looking very business-like ... Ashley Olsen smoking a cigarette outside Sant Ambroeus with a friend ... Alicia Keys exiting the Christian Louboutin store on Horatio Street with Swizz Beatz and her bodyguard ... Kate Hudson leaving her townhouse ... Famke Janssen taking her dog for a walk ... Robert Downey Jr. arriving at ABC's Times Square studios ... Hugh Jackman walking on Canal Street ... Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz leaving a grocery store yesterday ... Amanda Seyfried filming scenes for Letters to Juliet near Battery Park ... and Sarah Jessica Parker getting into a car outside Morandi after having lunch there yesterday.
• Broadway producer Hal Prince, who put his co-op at 834 Fifth Avenue on the market for $33 million back in September, has picked up a new place nearby. The Phantom of the Opera producer and his wife, Judy, have paid $12.5 million for a seven-story townhouse at 48 East 74th Street. The five-bedroom home was first listed in January for $15.5 million. [NYO]
• Director Oliver Stone has gone into contract to buy a condo at One Morton Square. The pad had been listed most recently for $1.9 million. [NYP, PDE]
• Rory Kennedy, the filmmaker and youngest daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, has sold her two-story house on Shelter Island. Kennedy sold the home, which isn't far from the property that Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan picked up last year, for $2.967 million. [Newsday]
Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple that crashed the White House state dinner last month and remain under investigation by a Congressional committee, may not get their chance to appear on Bravo's Real Housewives of Washington DC. The network is now reportedly thinking about giving them their own reality show. [NYP]
Katie Holmes, actress and Bride of Scientology, turns 31 today. Hard-charging hedge fund manager Dan Loeb is turning 48. Brad Pitt turns 46. Steven Spielberg is turning 63. Christina Aguilera is celebrating her 29th birthday today. Dan Klores, the publicist turned documentary filmmaker, is marking his 60th. The head of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, is 52. Memorial Sloan-Kettering president (and Nobel Prize winner) Harold Varmus is turning 70. Troubled rapper DMX is 39. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is 66. Ray Liotta is turning 55. Model agency owner Faith Kates is 52. And former Miss USA Tara Conner is turning 24 today. A bunch of weekend birthdays is below.
• A week after a restaurant opened at the Guggenheim Museum and now Robert, a new eatery at the Museum of Arts & Design, has opened. [GS, NYT]
• Maialino begins breakfast service tomorrow, a first for Danny Meyer. [TONY]
• Aspen on West 22nd has been temporarily closed over tax issues. [Eater]
• A judge has ordered the Chelsea club Duvet to close immediately. [NYP]
• The city's plan to require that restaurants post inspection letter grades—which LA has done for years—is one step closer to becoming law. [NYT]
• Three Russian Tea Room chefs have hit the restaurant with a lawsuit. [NYP]
• Another annual "best of" list, if you're in the mood. [Metromix]
• Snooki from MTV's Jersey Shore now has her own taco. [HL via Eater]
• The e-reader war rages on: If you want to read the Post on your Kindle on the way to work, you're out of luck; you'll have to buy a Sony Reader. [NYT, AFP]
• Project Runway will return to NYC (and Lifetime) for its 7th season. [NYDN]
• Budget Travel isn't shutting down, contrary to the rumors awhile back. But it does have a new owner now that Newsweek has sold it to a financial firm. [AP]
• Job cuts at the Times in the last two days have claimed 18 people. [AP]
• American Idol creator Simon Fuller is launching an online talent show. [NYT]
• Diane Sawyer's GMA debut next week is going to be "low-key." [USAT]
• It looks like Fox News will close out 2009 with its highest ratings ever. [B&C]
• Ashton Kutcher is bringing The Beautiful Life back. On YouTube. [NYT]
• The 16th annual SAG Award nominations were announced today. [LAT]
• Nancy O'Dell is quitting Access Hollywood. Why? Because the show is getting too sensational and she's a "nice and classy girl." But you knew that. [People]
Beginning in January, the Museum of Modern Art will morph into a club—with DJs spinning house music, "specialty cocktails," a $20 cover, and everything—on the first Thursday of each month. Please mind the artwork, clubgoers. Oh, and come early: This new nightspot is only open till 8:45pm. [NewYorkology]
Were you aware that Sex and the City slot machines are coming soon to Las Vegas' classiest casinos? They are. (And they pump out lines from the show—like "Hello, lover!"—every time someone hits a jackpot. Cool!) Chris Noth made a personal appearance in Sin City a couple of weeks ago to unveil the new machines. The speech he gave in honor of the momentous occasion appears after the jump for your viewing pleasure.
When Steve Madden introduced its horrific Multi-Color Bukled Heel last year, it was pretty clear where inspiration for the shoe had come from: Balenciaga's equally unattractive Closed Front Cage Sandals With Ankle Pads, which were part of its Fall '07 line, cost $4,175 and graced the feet of Beyoncé. "Steve Madden has gone too far this time," wrote one fashion blogger galled by the obvious copy. It seems Balenciaga was thinking the same thing! On Monday, it slapped Steve Madden with a lawsuit. The court documents are below.
Club owner and incorrigible attention addict JE Englebert is back with another shameless publicity stunt. He says he's auctioning off an outfit that Tiger Woods Mistress No. 1 Rachel Uchitel wore when she worked as a VIP hostess at TAO in Las Vegas. But he's giving the proceeds to a charity that fights domestic abuse, so it's all cool. Or not. Englebert's latest typo-ridden press release is below.
The job market has improved a tiny bit. According to the Department of Labor, New York City added 10,000 jobs last month and the city's unemployment rate dropped to 10 percent, compared to 10.3 percent for the month of October. It isn't much, no—NYC has lost 139,000 jobs since last August—but just be grateful the numbers aren't heading in the other direction. [Crain's]
There was a protest outside Goldman Sachs this morning! The turnout wasn't great, but the handful of people who did turn out came armed with a special song. (It's to the tune of "Jingle Bells.") A video clip of the action is below.
On Tuesday, the New York Daily News took the New York Post to task over its new "sex, love and relationship" columnist Ashley Dupre, calling the ex-hooker's advice "useless" and bemoaning the fact Post editors have insisted on giving Dupre a "16th minute of fame." But the Daily News is a friend to publicity-seeking former sex workers, too! Look no further than Kristin Davis, the madam who claims she provided escorts to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Over the past 11 months, the News has mentioned Davis in no fewer than 16 articles, many of which link to her website and plug her self-published paperback book. (Just yesterday, she earned a mention when the Daily News' Gatecrasher column interviewed Davis about her plans to run against Spitzer for state comptroller in the event he decides to run himself.) It's almost like the paper has Davis on speed dial, doesn't it?
