The NY Daily News brings us the touching tale of a Brooklyn woman and her lucky garden gnome. Ever since Jennifer Pernice received the gag gift — it's your standard garden gnome in a Giants jersey — "The Giants have been doing pretty good." Look, either Pernice is the fun kind of crazy, or that gnome is actual magic. Either way it makes for a great story.
Does Tom Cruise have a crush on Jeremy Renner? Are Kat Von D and Jesse James engaged? Was Shape wrong to put LeAnn Rimes on their cover? Friday gossip is full of perplexing questions.
The Robin Hood Foundation's spring fundraiser took place last night at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center and some 3,200 people turned up to munch on grilled shrimp and chicken Milanese, mingle with the likes of Oprah and Anne Hathaway, and open their wallets and give to the non-profit that funnels millions of dollars a year to worthy causes across the city. The mood was a bit subdued this year, which isn't surprising considering Robin Hood remains the charity of choice for a big bunch of Wall Street chiefs and hedge fund titans like Dan Och, Steve Cohen, and Paul Tudor Jones. To reflect the mood, the lavish auction items that were a staple in previous years weren't part of the program this time around. But emcee Jon Stewart managed to keep the crowd laughing with Bernie Madoff jokes, and George Soros gave the evening a big boost by making a $50 million pledge. (The organization collected a total of $72 million last night, up from $56 million last spring.) Coverage of the event can be found here, here, and here. For a slightly more informal take on the evening, a brief dispatch from the wife of a hedge fund manager is below.
Tom Hanks was honored with the Chaplin Award at the at the 36th annual Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute last night, where he was joined by an A-list crowd including Julia Roberts, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Charlize Theron, Sally Field, Glenn Close, Adrien Brody, Mike Nichols, Graydon Carter, Sam Mendes, Christopher Walken, Christy Turlington and Ed Burns, Christie Brinkley, Lorne Michaels, Jeff Zucker, Nora Ephron and Nick Pileggi, David Gregory, Joy and Regis Philbin, John Patrick Shanley, Bruce Springsteen, Ninah and Michael Lynne, Leslie and Robert Zemeckis, Roger Waters, Jonathan Demme, Jeremy Irons, Abby McGrew and Eli Manning, Ken Burns, Nigel Barker, Rob Wiesenthal, and Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, along with Tom's wife Rita Wilson and son Colin Hanks. [PMc, Wireimage, FWD, USA Today, People]
Christy Turlington celebrates her 40th today. Taye Diggs is turning 37. Kate Bosworth is turning 26. Former Times reporter Judy Miller is 61. Loews CEO Jim Tisch is 56. Restaurateur Michael Lomonaco is turning 54. Marshall Rose, real estate developer and husband of Candice Bergen, is 72. Actress Paz Vega is 32. Cuba Gooding Jr. is 41. Former House speaker Dennis Hastert is 67. And Michael Bloomberg's mother, Charlotte, celebrates 100 today. Weekend birthdays after the jump.
Yesterday was supposed to be the finale of the New York media's Super Bowl overload party, after two excruciating weeks of trivialities about the Giants. But then they actually won the Super Bowl. Now, on the morning after, the realization is sinking in that we aren't going to hear the end of all this for a long time. After the jump, a roundup of overnight coverage, and a warning of what's to come.
Previously consigned to the shadow of his older brother, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Eli became a hometown hero after leading the Giants to a stunning Superbowl triumph over the Patriots—twice.
