Ah, this is going to be fun. Remy Stern's Cityfile-a who's who of New York media, finance and politics-is finally live. The online directory's more-than-2,000 profiles, written by an-in-house team of researchers, show up the user-generated approach of Wikipedia which was supposed to sweep all before it.
You know what's really heartwarming? When the world's most powerful celebrities manage to keep things in perspective, and realize that their little quibbles and irritations are nothing compared to the struggles average people face. Of course, that's not to suggest the famous are immune from real traumas, like when a fashion magazine comes to your house, takes pictures, and then slightly misdescribes one of those pictures in a caption.
We don't know if you've heard of this new DJ/music producer, Mark Ronson: He's totally under the radar, and is very rarely photographed or gossiped about, let alone spotted schmoozing with different celebs each night of the week. There haven't been any newspaper or magazine profiles written about him (nor about his sisters, two reclusive and prim young ladies named Samantha and Charlotte) so thank goodness a UK Times journalist had his finger sufficiently on the pulse to suggest something radical to his editor: An interview with the attention-shy, self-effacing young man himself, so that the world can finally hear about him and his work.
The public face of PETA, Dan Mathews, has been flying around the world as usual, but instead of focusing solely on orchestrating wacky animal rights stunts, he's promoting his book, Committed: a Rabble-Rouser's Memoir, in which he describes PETA's public enemy no. 1, Anna Wintour, as looking "like she has constant, painful gas." Attacks on the Vogue editor have created some of the biggest headlines for PETA, but she remains intransigent in the face of gay ex-model Mathew's inventive campaigns:
The Brinkley-Cook divorce trial started off its second week this morning with more testimony from Christie herself, who said that while Peter has been cavorting around the Hamptons with a bevy of beauties including his current girlfriend Suzanne Shaw, she has been staying at home focusing on their kids. In fact, Christie says she hasn't dated anyone since their split in 2006! Hear that all eligible bachelors? Christie Brinkley hasn't dated anyone in two years. And judging from how her past romances ended up, her expectations for a mate probably aren't very high, either.
Disgraced ex-governor Eliot Spitzer recently headed off for a summer vacation with his wife and daughters in tow. Just before the family headed out of town, one member of the family celebrated a very special event: 18-year-old daughter Elyssa Spitzer attended her senior prom. The Horace Mann graduate—and soon-to-be Harvard student—hit up the Pierre in Midtown for the big event. Beforehand, though, Elyssa had to suffer through that all-too-familiar rite of passage—the parental meet-and-greet—introducing her date, Sam, to her dad. (Curiously, though, Silda Wall Spitzer was absent from the pre-prom festivities. Update: A family rep informs us that Mrs. Spitzer was, in fact, present. She just wasn't photographed.)
You may not have much sympathy for the Wall Street fat cats and CEOs who have lost their jobs in recent months and been forced to survive on the eight or nine figures they have saved up in the bank. But spare a thought for that voiceless group just as battered by the sudden change in circumstances: the trophy wives. After all, it wasn't they who made reckless investments in the subprime mortgage market and caused a global financial meltdown. They played no role in blowing up the markets. On the contrary, they've been doing their part to boost the economy for years now: They've been busy shopping. And yet many Manhattan women are now finding that the entire basis of their marriages (their lives?) has been pulled out from under them. We're here to help! After the jump, a few handy tips on how to modify your lifestyle during this trying period.
It's hard to believe Alexis Bryan is just now entering her third trimester. The wife of the Observer's Spencer Morgan, daughter of ex-telecom mogul Shelby Bryan, sort-of stepdaughter of Anna Wintour, employee of Graydon Carter, and soon-to-be mom of someone who will, no doubt, be one of Manhattan's most well-dressed tots, has been expanding before our eyes (and the cameras) for the past few months. Below, a look back at Alexis's growing bump, which we're sure she'll want to print out and include in her baby book.
From the Times today: "An article today in Sunday Business about missed opportunities to reduce America's dependence on imported oil refers to a 1990 effort by Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina, to block higher mileage requirements for vehicles and notes that Mr. Helms did not return calls seeking comment. The section went to press on Thursday, before Mr. Helms’s death Friday morning."
Former Bear Stearns chief Jimmy Cayne has had a lousy few months, hasn't he? It was while Cayne was frittering away his days on the golf course that the investment bank imploded, of course, and the firm was later sold off for pennies on the dollar to Jamie Dimon's JP Morgan. Thousands of people lost their jobs, the Bear name has since been relegated to the dust bin of Wall Street history, and there's even been chatter that Cayne could face criminal charges in connection with the firm's demise. Then there's the humiliation of watching his personal fortune go up in smoke: Once worth more than $1 billion, Cayne now has less than 10% of that to his name these days. (Embarrassingly, Cayne's little nephew—who he broke into the business—is worth more.) Not that anyone is feeling sorry for Jimmy and his wife, Pat, now that they'll be forced to think twice before ordering up a $5,000 bottle of 1959 Château Margaux the next time they visit Le Bernardin. But those reveling in the schadenfreude, though, haven't considered the people who are really going to suffer: Jewish orphans! After the jump, everything you wanted to know about the James E. Cayne and Patricia D. Cayne Charitable Trust.
Last week brought the appalling news that pill-popping professional idiot Rush Limbaugh signed an eight-year, $400 million contract with Premiere Radio Networks. He'll now collect $38 million a year, which he'll probably direct to some of the passions detailed in a NYT Magazine profile of Limbaugh this past weekend, like La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel cigars, private jets (he just purchased a Gulfstream G550) and life-size oil paintings of himself. (The deal also provided him with a $100 million signing bonus.) But what about the rest of the news media heavyweights—how much coin are they taking home annually? The salaries of America's most beloved anchors and blowhards of various political persuasions after the jump.
The summer season has reached its midpoint, but if you'd like to get a jump on 2009—and assuming you can afford the hefty price tag—Christie Brinkley's Shingle-style manse in Bridgehampton is still available for the taking. Photos of the home where Brinkley once spent quiet, romantic moments with Peter Cook (and where Cook indulged in his pricey porn habit) after the jump.
Alex Rodriguez's beleaguered wife Cynthia is quickly on her way to becoming the Yankee star's ex-wife: She filed for divorce in Miami this morning. (The divorce docs are here.) Cynthia's trip to the courthouse caps off a busy weekend for the former couple. Cynthia returned from Paris (where she was staying with Lenny Kravitz!) and got down to business, hiring a team of high-priced divorce attorneys; for her part, Madonna issued a statement denying that she and Alex Rodriguez have ever been romantically involved and said she has no plans to divorce her own husband, Guy Ritchie. Madonna's denial came after the news had surfaced over the weekend that the pop star had inducted the Dominican-born star into the cult of Kabbalah, which immediately escalated into a series of bizarre reports: Madonna supposedly used Kabbalah to brainwash A-Rod into believing they're soulmates, and A-Rod's former trainer said that the slugger only listens to Madonna's music while he drives and goes "into a trance" if her videos come on at the gym.
Some of the biggest moguls and powerbrokers in New York just can't seem to figure out who the next mayor should be! According to the Times today, heavyweights like Martin Lipton, Steve Rattner and Jerry Speyer—as well as other members of the Kathryn Wylde-led Partnership for New York City—have been scratching their heads, debating which way to tug on the strings. Do we try and overturn term limits so Michael Bloomberg can stay on? Do we find another mega-wealthy businessman to fill his shoes? But Dick Parsons doesn't want the job, goddamit! Maybe John Catsimatidis? We're guessing Kevin Sheekey has already made his opinion known.
The wacky, stunt-loving members of Improv Everywhere created a "human mirror" on a 6 train, filling an entire subway car with twins sitting across from one another. Hilarity ensued! Video of the underground antics is after the jump.
The New York Times' David Carr sounds off today about the Fox News PR machine and its longstanding practice of bashing critics with rumor and innuendo: "Roger Ailes, Fox News and its public relations apparatus have waged a permanent campaign on behalf of the channel that borrows its methodology from his days as a senior political adviser to Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush." [NYT]
The worst-selling automotive brand in America? The Hummer, as you probably guessed. Sales are down 40 percent through June, although it's unclear if that's because the public has come to realize what an idiot you look like driving one, or because filling up a Hummer with a tank of gas now costs about six million dollars. [Baltimore Sun]
