media

The Commie 'Winnie the Pooh'

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 03:35PM

When the godless Reds in the Soviet Union wanted to entertain their young, they got their cartoons like they got everything else-they stole it! The following is a clip from a Soviet Era cartoon called, "Vinnie the Puh." And it's pure Red Menace indoctrination from start to finish. You want to rise high and claim some precious honey for yourself, little Comrade? Nyet! Stay in your place!

New Battlestar Galactica Movies Are Coming!

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 02:53PM

Yay! Even after the Sci-Fi Channel's space sock-hop Battlestar Galactica finishes its final season next year, there will still be more BSG for all-in movie form! Former Gawker Choire Sicha is reporting for the LA Times that the first of as many as three Battlestar made-for-TV movies has just gotten the go ahead. And he got it right from Pretty Asian Cyclon herself, Grace Park: "'I just heard about the first Battlestar movie being greenlit,' said Park [...] A TV movie, but still! But this-it's like, yeah, it's over but we're ready to move on but nobody's manager or agent has been called. It's supposed to start in August.'" And what can she tell us about the end of the series?

Eric Schaeffer is Back and Looking for Tranny Action

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 01:09PM

Proto-douche and I Can't Believe I'm Still Single author Eric Shaeffer is back to annoy us all with his blog. When a reader wrote in, "The reason you can't find a girl is on account of getting fucked in the ass by doms," Schaeffer offered this response: "The joys of giving over are obvious and plentiful to those of us straight guys who dabble. For those of you who don't or wish to judge, you might want to get your facts straight so you don't poison the world with anymore bullshit. We have way to much contaminating us already." Oh, and for those of you that aren't sure just who is and who is not engaging in hot trans-actional funtimes, Schaeffer explains it to you after the jump.

The 'Real' Ron Burgundy Passes Away

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 12:49PM

From Cajun Boy's blog comes the news that journeyman local news anchor Ron Hunter-who is thought by some to be the inspiration for Ron Burgundy in Anchorman-has passed away at the age of 70. "In his long career, Ron Hunter anchored top rated local news desks in New Orleans, Miami, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Chicago, where he shared the desk with the likes of Jane Pauley and Maury Povich." After jump, one of the late newsman's former colleagues remembers his ego-driven antics, er, fondly?

My Interview With Michael Ian Black

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 11:40AM

Last week, comedian/author/VH1 dude Michael Ian Black started a feud with memoirist David Sedaris in preparation for the release of his own book, My Custom Van: And 50 Other Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face. I decided to ask him about that, and a bunch of other things, at around the time of night when I used to watch Battlestar Galactica. The deeply insightful results after the jump.

David Carr On The New Hunter S. Thompson Documentary

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 11:07AM

New York Times media reporter David Carr-a former crack enthusiast-takes a look at Gonzo, the new documentary about legendary drugs-and-freedom-loving journalist Hunter S. Thompson. "Few writers have commodified narcissism so completely - his participatory style of journalism became its own genre and gives the film its title - but still we are invited to sit in the dark of the theater and have a flashback about his flashbacks. When the film opens on July 4, why will people, as Thompson would say, buy the ticket, take the ride?"

Someone is Marrying Chris Kattan!

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 10:44AM

Chris Kattan, who played that apple-eating monkey-type thing on Saturday Night Live is marrying model Sunshine Tutt in Yosemite Valley, CA, today. "'Originally I was going to do something very special,' Kattan told People about the engagement. 'I tried to get Bono of U2 to serenade her. That didn't happen. Then I asked Justin Timberlake. No answer. After hundreds of phone calls and text messages, I finally ended up asking one of the members of the Hanson group. He didn't want to get involved.'"

One Post Wonders: Blogs That Died at Birth

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 10:24AM

From the hoary old crypts of the most ancient corners of the Internet comes a massively awesome collection of blogs that no one cared about. Like whatever it was that Jakob Lodwick invented, but worse! Each began with one post from some cyber-dreamer, and that one post has been preserved, all on its lonesome, to this day. For instance:

Dutch Potheads Threatened by Anti-Tobacco Goons

ian spiegelman · 06/28/08 09:42AM

It's still cool to buy some weed and smoke a joint in one of Amsterdam's fine coffee houses, but the freedom-hating health nuts at the European Union have shoved their anti-tobacco agenda down that fair city's throat! This is a real problem for Amsterdam's stoners, since they enjoy the European tradition of mixing tobacco with their hash and Mary Jane.

'Times' Lore: The Pristine Style Manual

Pareene · 06/27/08 02:26PM

We were sent this tear-jerking tale of the going-away party for a New York Times employee who got the best gift ever. "The story: Merrill Perlman, the director of copy desks at The Times, who has 'chosen' to leave the paper (read: got pushed out) received a send-off today in the same spot where the Pulitzers were given out earlier this year. (This, after the farewell had originally been scheduled for the Page One conference room - never mind that the copy editors constitute the biggest staff in the New York office.)" Read on!

CBS Exec Brags About Fiddling as Network Burns

Pareene · 06/27/08 01:01PM

In an odd bit of television, charming-but-unwatched late night host Craig Ferguson invited a fictional author onto his show Wednesday. The fictional author, Stanley Bing, wrote a book about slacking off on the job called Executricks: Or How to Retire While You're Still Working. But Stanley Bing's real name is Gil Schwartz. And Schwartz is actually CBS's head of corporate communications. Meanwhile, CBS's stock is tanking. So this is maybe bad PR, to admit to not really giving a shit about your job? Asked for comment, Schwartz said "go stuff it." After the jump, Ferguson interviews "Bing" about his earlier book on "Bullshit Jobs"—ones that pay more than they're worth. Heh.

"I swear my golden retriever Chaucer said 'hi' to me one morning."

Hamilton Nolan · 06/27/08 12:37PM

I recently started subscribing to National Geographic, and its coverage of Stonehenge and jungles is incomparable. But I'm convinced that the sly geography wonks on its editorial staff get their kicks each month by selecting the most insane letters to the editor, and putting them into the magazine. The new issue has letters about a March story on animal intelligence. They must have gotten thousands! So who's represented? Inexplicable dog haters, lamb-whisperers, and schizophrenics:

OMG Sloane Crosley Totally Loves Us

Hamilton Nolan · 06/27/08 10:36AM

Sloane Crosley, author, popular publicist, self-effacing autobiographer, HBO series subject, gossip monster assembler, big ass chronicler, partygoer, and etiquette specialist has a new video interview out, and damned if she's not commenting on us and the rest of the "snarky urban jungle." Whoa, you write about somebody 27 times and all of a sudden it's like they can't stop talking about you. It's okay though—she thinks all this vicious online gossip is a net positive(!), a view that I tried to get across to Keith Gessen at his party, without success. Perhaps he will be persuaded by listening to his pal Sloane! Watch Crosley explain why she tolerates Gawker and its commenters, but Village Voice readers made her cry, below:

Is Conde Nast Trying To Buy Rolling Stone?

Hamilton Nolan · 06/27/08 09:50AM

FOLIO magazine spotted a juicy bit at the very end of a Charlie Rose interview earlier this week with Vanity Fair chief Graydon Carter and Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner. Rose casually asks, "What's this story that Conde Nast wants to buy Rolling Stone?" That triggers a look of sheer terror on Graydon Carter's face, and a great deal of forced laughter and jabbering between the guests. We think we can hear Graydon saying, "We'll see." What it does not trigger is a denial. RS would certainly be a decent pickup for Conde Nast, but what the hell would Jann Wenner do with himself if he sold out? (Then again, Jeff Bercovici thinks Wenner's company is in a permanent decline, and he should cash out). Click to watch the clip, and parse the reactions carefully. [If you have any further info, email us.]

Obama Plays Password on Fox Business

Pareene · 06/27/08 09:39AM

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama appeared on the Fox Business Channel yesterday, apparently trying to reach the four depressed masturbators who make up the Fox Business audience. The blonde the modeling agency sent in to interview Obama decided to "have a little fun" with Barry by playing a word-association game. Yes, a word-association game! Hooray for journalism! Hooray for democracy! It's kind of the worst possible way for Obama to be interviewed because, yes, he's into 'the nuance thing.' So watch for yourself and cringe along at home.

Opie's $10 Million Page Six Suit: The Source Denies All

Hamilton Nolan · 06/27/08 08:33AM

Chaunce Hayden (pictured: his back tat), the editor of marginal gossip rag Steppin' Out, was named in a $10 million lawsuit yesterday for being the source who provided Page Six with a false item about a sex tape featuring Bam Margera and the fiancee of radio shock jock Opie. The Post already tried to pin all the blame for the mistake on Hayden (which is rather ungallant, whether accurate or not). And Page Six editor Richard Johnson even told Hayden he would never use another item from him again. But Chaunce has his own story, which can be summed up as: I just said this was a rumored sex tape, jerks. And I didn't start the rumor. It was some dude named, uh... Ben!:

"Tired" Mary-Kate Olsen Pushes Letterman's Buttons

Ryan Tate · 06/27/08 04:19AM

Flannel-loving starlet Mary-Kate Olsen was in no condition to be on David Letterman's Late Show last night. Her excuse for her disjointed, unenthusiastic interview? She was "so tired" after her long trip (on an airplane, of course, not via any illegal drugs or booze or whatnot). Letterman could hardly have sounded less impressed with this, and twice referred back to how sorry he was about Olsen being "tired," by which he meant that she never should have plopped down on his damned couch if she was exhausted. Having been in show business since she was six-months old, MKO should have realized she was breaking the implicit talk-show contract: free publicity in exchange for a little coherent dish. If you're tired, buy a venti half-and-half latte to pull yourself together, or relinquish your camera time. At least Olsen shared some bitchy history on Spencer Pratt from The Hills. Clip of that and her tired-ness after the jump.

Right-Wing Media Still Pissed At Al Gore

Ryan Tate · 06/27/08 01:03AM

Some conservative pundits are, all of a sudden, understandably pissed at Democrat Al Gore for — well, maybe for not winning the White House for the liberals eight years ago or something? Or because they are jealous of Gore's Nobel Peace Prize, Oscar, and Emmy. Or maybe because they think Barack Obama will give Gore the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to someday become vice president. Anyway, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia just told Britain's Telegraph that Gore was a big baby who should have taken his unfair 2000 presidential defeat in stride like a real man, such as Richard Nixon. Since he had to wuss out and ask the Supreme Court to intervene, Scalia can't be held responsible for the ruling that ensued. Kind of a weird take from a guy now pimping a book called "The Art of Persuading Judges." But Scalia is not the only right-winger trashing Gore in the media lately. Here's an amazing, month-old clip in which Gore is accused of crushing the hopes of a Holocaust hero:

CNET Writer's Cozy Sourcing

Ryan Tate · 06/26/08 11:21PM

CNET News.com writer Caroline McCarthy published a nice scoop today on how social networking site I'm In Like With You raised $1.5 million from venture funding firm Spark Capital. Silicon Alley Insider has been chasing the story for weeks! How did McCarthy pull the exclusive out from under their nose? Who's to say! But, um, it's probably worth noting that McCarthy is dating David Karp, founder of blog network Tumblr and an intimate, bed-cuddling, entire-body-carrying friend of I'm In Like With You founder Charles Forman. Karp's company also shares Spark Capital as a venture funding backer. So, basically, McCarthy had sources close to her boyfriend to draw on. (Pictured, the happy threesome of Forman, Karp and McCarthy, as photographed by Richard Blakeley.) Should McCarthy's CNET blog post have carried a disclaimer? She doesn't think so: