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Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:59:00 -0800

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[Roundup: Eating & Drinking]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:45:00 -0800

• The Guggenheim is planning to open a restaurant named The Wright inside the museum. [NYT]
• Le Cirque is now morphing into a club on Friday nights. Just don't actually call it a club, though. [GS]
• Former Tailor chef Sam Mason has a new cooking show on Independent Film Channel and reports he may open something new in Brooklyn. [NYT]
• Má Pêche (aka Momofuku Midtown) is serving cocktails. [F&W]
• Is the Department of Health waging a war on pizza? It seems so. [Slice, GS]
• Starbucks is rolling out more of its brand-less coffeehouses. [NYT]
• If you haven't had a chance to get to know Vadim Ponorovsky, the owner of Paradou, please do so. He's a delight, both in print and on the phone. [Gawker]

[Roundup: Media & Entertainment]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:50:00 -0800

• Oprah got all teary today when she announced she'll end her talk show two years from now. Meanwhile her upstart cable network announced it'll launch in January 2011, eight months before her talk show goes off the air. [EW, THR]
• Oprah isn't the only one planning her goodbyes. Bill Moyers announced today that he's retiring and will wrap up his weekly PBS show in April 2010. [NYT]
• Former NY1 anchor Dominic Carter was found guilty of misdemeanor attempted assault today for roughing up his wife last year. [NYDN]
• Last night's season finale of Project Runway was the highest-rated episode of the season; meanwhile, winner Irina Shabayeva describes what's next for her.
• The new Twilight sequel, New Moon, isn't just causing excitable teens to pass out in droves. It's also on track to break a few box office records. [AFP, AP]
• More on the bloodshed at BusinessWeek the past few days. [FBNY]
• Tina Brown has herself a new right-hand man at The Daily Beast. [NYP]
• Yet another book by reality TV star Lauren Conrad is on the way. [NYDN]
• Phil Falcone's Harbinger has cut his stake in the Times once again. [Reuters]
• The scariest news ever: Lou Dobbs has left open the possibility that he'll make a run for the White House in 2012. And he wasn't kidding. [Reuters]

The Demi Moore Challenge [Magazines]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:05:00 -0800

It didn't very long for people to notice that the photo of Demi Moore on the cover of the December issue of W had been photoshopped. Half of her hip was missing! The magazine didn't even try to deny that the photo had been retouched. (A W spokesperson said the mag "did not do anything unusual or out of the ordinary," but since fixing up a cover photo is standard stuff, that didn't mean very much.)

Nevertheless, Moore has been absolutely adamant that the photo is 100 percent legit and has been lashing out—via Twitter, naturally—at any suggestion she's isn't every bit the perfect human the cover of W makes her out to be.

But now it's on. LA-based photographer Anthony Citrano says he'll give $5,000 to the charity of Moore's choice if she (or W) can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it's the real deal. Will Moore accept the challenge and potentially walk away with $5,000 to then squander by turning it over to the Kabbalah Centre? Don't disappoint us, Demi!

$5,000 says it's Moore photoshopping [BoingBoing]
The Curious Case Of Demi Moore's Left Hip [Jezebel]

So Long, Swine Flu [Epidemics]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:57:00 -0800

Swine flu has "peaked" and is now on the decline, reports the CDC, so you can probably stop buying Purell by the gallon now. [NYT]

The Irrepressible Heidi Klum [Workaholics]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:36:00 -0800

Despite the fact she had a baby, like, five minutes ago (and she still has some baby weight to lose, or so she says), Heidi Klum took to the catwalk at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show last night, which returned to New York after a four-year absence. "I have to say, I wasn't sure until the last minute if I was going to do it or not. I kind of left it open. And then I thought, 'What the heck. Why not?'" [AP, E!, WSJ]

Donald Trump To Rescue You, Him [Pyramid Schemes]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:57:00 -0800

Because he's the embodiment of healthy living and good nutrition, Donald Trump is getting into the vitamin business. He isn't selling any vitamins though. It's a multi-level marketing scheme, which means Trump will be making money by getting other people to pay him for the right to sell Trump-branded (and gold-colored?) vitamins.

If that isn't distasteful enough, he's touting it as his very own "rescue and recovery program" which he designed for Americans struggling with the recession.

Although considering the state of his real estate holdings right now, it's probably safe to assume this latest venture is something of a rescue program for Donald Trump himself.

Donald Trump gets into the vitamin business with Trump Network [AP]

In Defense of the Douche [Lawsuits]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:07:00 -0800

"Douche" is having a moment, clearly. Last weekend, the New York Times devoted a front-page story to point out that the word has been used 76 times during primetime TV this fall (provoking a good deal of mockery online and off in the process). Now the infamous "douche" lawsuit from 2008 has popped back up in New York State Supreme Court.

In case you missed it at the time, sketchy publicist (and Gawker punching bag) Ronn Torossian filed a $20 million lawsuit against rival flack Drew Kerr last year after the latter purchased the web domain rontorossian.com and linked it to a photo of Summer's Eve douches. It turns out the case was settled out of court earlier this year without any money changing hands, although the settlement also appears to have involved taking down the site that sparked the feud as it's no longer operational.

But now the case has landed back in court since Kerr filed a lawsuit of his own, taking on his insurance company to recover his legal fees defending himself against Torossian.

Kerr claims his actions were covered under his liability policy; the company disagreed and pointed to Torossian's claim of defamation. This week Justice Judith J. Gische of New York Supreme Court weighed in, explained that calling someone a "douche" isn't defamation since it's an opinion, not a fact, and granted Kerr's motion of summary judgment. And now it will be up to a court referee to decide how much Kerr will get for his douche-related troubles. The ruling is below.

[EMBEDDED MEDIA]

The Tinz Keeps It Classy [Unreality TV]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:13:00 -0800

The latest (and possibly most shameless) publicity stunt designed to gin up publicity for Tinsley Mortimer's reality show has her making out with former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis. [GoaG]

Botax! [Beauty]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:58:00 -0800

One way the White House and Senate Democrats plan to pay to overhaul the health care system? By imposing a five percent tax on cosmetic procedures like breast implants, face lifts, tummy tucks, and Botox. The provision, which is projected to raise $6 billion over the next 10 years, has plastic surgeons up in arms, not surprisingly. But considering a slightly disproportionate number of cosmetic surgery consumers are Republicans, it may be a clever political move for Democrats. Even if it wreaks havoc on Nancy Pelosi's personal budget in the process. [AP]

Goldman Goes for Broke [Wall Street]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:25:00 -0800

It was once thing when politicians and members of the media were haranguing Goldman Sachs over its plans to pay out massive year-end bonuses. But now shareholders are getting into the act, too, a move that shows "how anger over its big-money culture is spilling into the ranks of investors who typically shy away from debates over Wall Street pay." Naturally, these giant mutual funds aren't speaking up on principle. (They'd like to benefit a bit more from the firm's record earnings.) And whether they really plan to do anything about it is up in the air. But there's an indication that all the PR troubles that the firm has faced this week—and this may go down as the worst week in the firm's history from a public relations standpoint—are about to vanish instantly.

Clearly, when Goldman Sachs execs are being asked to physically handle refuse, it's a good sign the firm has finally realized just how far it needs to go to clean up its PR mess.

Spotted [Out & About]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:27:00 -0800

Ashley Greene leaving The Box last night with Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill ... Robert Pattinson out and about in the meatpacking district ... John Mayer getting out of an SUV in Times Square ... Brooke Shields shopping in SoHo ... Julian Lennon walking in Midtown with a friend ... Ed Westwick shooting scenes for Gossip Girl on Central Park West ... Cyndi Lauper exiting Roseland Ballroom through the back door ... Anderson Cooper leaving the Ralph Lauren store on his bike ... Taylor Lautner shopping at Calvin Klein ... Josh Duhamel on the set of The Romantics ... Fergie leaving her hotel ... Katie Holmes leaving a Starbucks on Long Island ... and Kim Kardashian shopping with her mom, Kris Jenner.

The Journal Tackles the Important Stuff [Relationships]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:04:00 -0800

Did you know that in some relationships there's one person who is really, really neat while the other person is really, really messy, and occasionally this disparity leads to conflict? Thankfully, today's Wall Street Journal is all over this new crisis taking a toll of millions of relationships, and even has some useful advice to share with people coping with such a situation: "Research shows that a little humor goes a long way toward bridging a gap in a relationship." Hope that helps! [WSJ]

Tommy Hilfiger Unloads in Greenwich [Buyers & Sellers]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:15:00 -0800

• More than a year after listing it for $27.9 million, Tommy Hilfiger has finally found a buyer for his 20,000-square-foot manse in Greenwich. The estate, which is known as Stone Hill, was purchased by the fashion mogul for $18 million in 2005. Now an unidentified buyer is taking it off his hands for $20 million. [WSJ]
• Former Ariba CEO Lawrence Mueller and his wife Mary Kay have gone into contract to sell their condo at 15 Central Park West. The three-bedroom spread, which the couple first listed for $16.5 million in May and reduced to $15.5 million in October, went into contract earlier this week. [Cityfile, PDE]
• Alex Acquavella, the son of top NYC art dealer Bill Acquavella and his heir apparent at the tony UES gallery, has paid $3.9 million for an apartment at 50 Gramercy Park North. The two-bedroom spread features a wood burning fireplace and private terrace, along with views of Gramercy Park. [Cityfile]
• Melvyn Blum, a retired EVP at Vornado Realty Trust, has sold his 28th-floor apartment at the Trump International for $6.4375 million. The buyer is technology executive Sanjiv Ahuja and his wife Anju. [Cityfile]

Rudy Giuliani Stretches It Out [Politics]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:59:00 -0800

Yesterday the Daily News seemed to suggest that a run for Senate by Rudy Giuliani was pretty much inevitable. Today? Not so much. The former mayor is now just "mulling" such a bid, the paper reports before going on to quote several of his aides who say the ex-mayor "is not particularly tempted by any public office."

As one top lieutenant points out, "He's already got a bully pulpit, without having any of the headaches [of elected office]." Possibly a more important consideration for the former mayor and failed presidential candidate: If he runs for elected office again, he'll have to give him all those lucrative speaking gigs and contracts advising sketchy companies and foreign nations. Either way, Rudy seems intent on delaying a decision for as long as possible. The Daily News reports he's now heading to Florida for a four-day weekend, so you can count on another annoying round of speculation to kick off again next week.

Rudy Giuliani doesn't need to run for senator [NYDN]