Friday

The guys from Spy - the first magazine to ever be funny! - showed up on Today for a celebration of satire. It's a fairly dry interview, but we did love learning that the idea of one thing looking like another thing was invented at the Algonquin, and were particularly impressed by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter (current cover subject: Brad Pitt) inveighing against "crazy celebrity culture." There's also a nice moment at the end of the bit that a cantankerous observer might view as evidence that Carter cannot get away from Kurt Andersen quickly enough.

It's another "how great was Spy" piece, this time from The Observer (Graydon Carter's subsequent gig):

Over at Very Short List they're pimping out VSL co-founder Kurt Andersen's Spy: The Funny Years. (It's okay, though, they do it under the rubric of "Logrolling in our time," which is so, like, meta!) There's a sneak preview of the book, offering about five pages of vintage Spy, (The Greatest Magazine Ever! The first mag to use funny charts! And be snarky! Or notice that this thing looks like that other thing!) including graphs, the feature you see above, and a mean letter from Donald Trump. Gah. Either years of non-stop ironic detachment have somehow withered our sense of humor or people had way lower standards in the eighties. But whatever, we'll still buy it. Probably a few things left to rip off.

• Maggie Gyllenhaaaaaal and Peter Sarsgaaaaard buy a $1.75 million townhouse in Park Slope, crushing the dreams of one silly civilian who'd been dying for a shot at the property. Alas, famous people always win. [NYO]
• Blogging for Rolling Stone requires biting one's tongue, even if it's on the matter of Fergie's prune face. [Idolator]
• A new Page Six writer learns that freebies really don't fly, especially when you gloat about your trappings in a mass email sent to half the city. [Radar]
• Our socialist brother taunts Edelman PR. [Consumerist]
• If you're excited about the Spy book, you'll likely enjoy Radar's homage to how it came to be. One thought: poor Kurt Andersen. [Radar]

• Kevin Federline on his new baby boy: "Man, I'm a father again!" Our thoughts exactly, dude. Time to double-bag that shit. [Page Six]
• Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter is back to smoking. Welcome home, punkin. [Radar]
• When you talk about Nicole Richie's anorexia it, like, stresses her out, and she loses her appetite. So this is all your fault. [IMDb]
• Paris Hilton and Travis Barker suck face. The stars are indeed blind, and falling fast. [TMZ]
• Simon Cowell forgets to pay his AmEx Black card bill. [Page Six]
• We'd no idea a millionaire no-talent pop star could even be in crisis, but apparently Jessica Simpson is rising from the ashes. Relatively speaking, of course. [Us Weekly]

Some interesting news from the world of fine dining today. In a report on what to look forward to this fall, the Times' Florence Fabricant notes that "the restaurant world will try some surprising twists, as established names branch out into unfamiliar roles. Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, suddenly becomes a restaurateur." Carter, it turns out, "is recycling Ye Waverly Inn as the Waverly Inn..." We're not sure that "recycling" is a fair description; we were given a sneak peek, and the d cor alone screams "new" and "now." Here's a first look.

David Carr, explaining the secrets to his success as a media critic in the current Rake:

What a difference a month makes.

• Joel Stein calls Sesame Street's Elmo "an annoying tool." You see where we're going with this one. [LAT]
• Attention PR people: You have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull the wool over Rachel Sklar's eyes. (Here's a hint: mention "vaginas.") [PRWeek]
• Graydon Carter exposes the great fire hydrant fraud. [Young Manhattanite]
• Whatever Conde Nast is paying to get all this coverage for forthcoming money mag Portfolio, it's probably worth it. RELATED: Does anyone know the HTML code for that weird "f" they're using on the cover? [WWD]

• Graydon Carter reveals mission statement: "Any criticism of me is absolutely ridiculous." [NYP]
• Katie Couric doesn't need to go to Iraq just to impress you. That's the president's job. [AH]
• Remember that crazy uncle who knew more about obscure Scottish watch-making techniques of the 1880s than anyone else in the world? Remember how he'd always buttonhole you at family gatherings, talking about lathes? Well, Greg Lindsay's kind of like that, except with airports. [FC]

A Gawker reader who checked into "a hotel room on a wild and blustery Pacific beach in Panama" found a bit of detritus presumably left behind by a previous guest: a cover sheet from the "Vanity Fair Daily Gossip Pack" for May 4, 2006.

At left, Graydon Carter makes a sartorial mistake at the VF Oscar Party. At right, a marked improvement.
Look who's learned his lesson! At last night's Vanity Fair party for the Tribeca Film Festival, editor Graydon Carter exercises sound judgment and leaves his Party Skidz at home. And doesn't he look nice? Now his wife has no problem being photographed with him.

Graydon Carter, having long ago abandoned the idea of printing his "green" issue of Vanity Fair on recycled paper, thereby making it slightly less environmentally objectionable than a typical issue, finally gave up on any pretense of conservation.

• One night after she was seen having Guinness with dinner, pregnant Gwyneth Paltrow is spotted downing glasses of wine at Lupa. Here's hoping she names the kid Franzia. [Gatecrasher (2nd item)]
• Cindy Adams gives an inexplicable shout-out to Lindsay Lohan, who has a dog that "may be having mental problems." Oh, Cindy — quit projecting. [Cindy Adams]
• Loudmouthed hookerpants Anna Benson files for divorce from former Mets pitcher Kris Benson, claiming that he's cheated on her. Benson, we suspect, is relieved. [Deadspin]
• Even if he's a longshot, should Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter replace Brad Grey as head of Paramount, we'll fly to Los Angeles just so we can slit our wrists in Hollywood. [Page Six]
• Beyoncé's father challenges American Idol creator Simon Cowell to a pre-fabricated musical duel. Slow news day. [Lowdown]

Because Toby Young isn't quite done milking his ill-fated tenure at Vanity Fair for every last drop of post-facto enrichment, he'll be back this summer with yet another memoir, containing yet more reminiscences of Graydon Carter. The Sound of No Hands Clapping is set for July publication, and a mole at The Book Standard today passes along some choice bits he found in an unedited copy of the (apparently long overdue) text:

A reader sends along an email currently infesting the superhighway, reportedly from a staffer who was so honored as to work at Sunday night's Oscar party. We can't attest to the veracity of the email but, having passed muster with our starfucking brother Defamer, we see no reason not to share it with you all. But first, a warning: What you are about to read is perhaps the least salacious roll call of the rich and famous to ever have been compiled. Enjoy:

Graydon Carter on Paris Hilton (his then-current cover girl), Sept. 29, 2005, as extensively quoted on FishbowlNY:

On Monday, as we nursed our Academy Awards hangover with some therapeutic A-list mockery, we couldn't help but notice that Graydon Carter chose an interesting ensemble for his Vanity Fair party. Of those stunning slacks, a reader writes:

You're the host of what is arguably the most exclusive Oscar party, the one to which everyone wants to be invited. Your magazine has paid for all the expenses, and all you have to do is show up, schmooze, and be fabulous. Every A-lister in town is there, and you're their king for the night, reigning high and mighty above all the beautiful people.