The New York Observer (New York, NY) back issues from December 2007:
Weekend in Review: Rudy's Bills, Advice for Spitzer.
Dec 02, 2007 ... Over the weekend, the Rudy Giuliani billing scandal that has been dubbed both the "Shag Fund" and Judygate played on, with both national and local press seizing on angles to further the story. The New York Post reported that, in addition to the mayor himself, one of Giuliani's ...
Huckabee Hearts Rudy: Baptist Minister Backs Up Mayor on 'Judygate'.
Dec 02, 2007 ... Mike Huckabee's value to Rudy Giuliani has been well-documented. But the relationship is a two-way street--something Mr. Huckabee made clear on national television on Sunday. Toward the end of a 20-minute interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week, Mr. Huckabee was ...
Giants Beat Bears, Carry Manning.
Dec 02, 2007 ... Has the Giants' coaching staff lost its faith in Eli Manning? Following their 21-16 victory this weekend against the Chicago Bears, it may be hard to imagine that they're considering taking the ball out of Manning's hands. But up until the 11-minute mark of the fourth ...
New Bloomberg for President Web Site.(Website overview)
Dec 03, 2007 ... On the heels of the latest speculation about Michael Bloomberg as both a presidential and vice-presidential candidate, Karin Gallet, self-appointed organizer of the Draft Bloomberg movement, has launched a new web site. The new site, Unite for Mike, features a poll asking ...
Graffiti of the Philanthropic Class.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Benches. Theater houses. Galleries. Toilet seats. It seems like the arts world has been tagged with the name of Mr. and Mrs. Rich Person from top to bottom. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wonders: Where are the anonymous donors? "Attending a performance can be like leafing through ...
Ridley Scott Takes on Gucci Family for New Film.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Ridley Scott, the Gladiator director who just finished American Gangster, will go Gucci, directing a feature for Fox about the drama-filled family, according to Variety. The film will chronicle the wild and glamorous story of the Gucci family in the 1970s and '80s, when its 153 ...
Paul McCartney, Rosanna Arquette: 'Spending More Time Together'.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The Arquette siblings are many things, but shy is not one of them. That hold especially true for colorful sister Alexis, whose cross-dressing fabulosity puts her back in the headlines from time to time. Now, it seems, she is even willing to spill the beans on 48-year-old sibling Rosanna's ...
After Probe, New Republic Retracts Beauchamp Stories.
Dec 03, 2007 ... New Republic editor Franklin Foer has offered an in-depth look at the magazine's painstaking efforts to verify its three Baghdad Diarist columns, written by Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a soldier in Iraq. Conservative bloggers had challenged some of the anecdotes described in the columns, and ...
Quinn: No Change to Term Limits.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Christine Quinn just announced she has "decided not to pursue a change in New York City's term limit law. I will neither support legislation nor will I seek or support a new referendum eliminating or altering term limits." I've noted that although movement has been dying, it is ...
After the Strike, Broadway Ticket Prices Rise.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The price of a Broadway ticket will rise in the wake of the stagehands strike - but not necessarily because of the walkout, according to New York Daily News. After the 19-day strike, theaters lured back audiences with discount tickets and even a free show. But it's only a matter ...
MTV and MySpace Rock the Vote.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Herein: a partial guide to the 2008 presidential race's new-media-old-media bedfellows. (a) CNN and YouTube. (b) ABC and Facebook. (c) MTV and ...MySpace! To ...
Guinness Book of Records for Sale.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The Guinness Book of World Records is up for sale, The Times of London reports, and its current owners, Hit Entertainment, are asking for about $124 million. ...
Imus Returns, Calls Hillary Clinton 'Satan,' Dick Cheney a 'War Criminal'.
Dec 03, 2007 ... This morning at 6am, Don Imus kicked off his new morning show on WABC. It didn't take long for him to get back to old business. "Not much has changed,' said ...
Huckabee Defends Giuliani, Obama Criticizes Clinton.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Steve Kornacki considers the pragmatic alliance between Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani, including the minister's defense yesterday of the former mayor's billing practices. ...
The (Big) Round-Up: Monday.
Dec 03, 2007 ... A Japanese New Yorker makes some good investments. [NY Times] A couple's hunt for a Manhattan rental leads to bed bugs and tension in the relationship. [NY Times] Potential buyers rent and wait for the market to change. [NY Times] Brooklynites are drawn to ...
Writers' Guild Strike Won't End Until March?
Dec 03, 2007 ... On the heels of the Writers Guild of America slamming the studios' $130 million new offer last week, many strikers from both sides see a gloomy forecast and don't expect a resolution until March. Variety reports: Optimism for a ...
The Morning Read: Monday, December 3, 2007.
Dec 03, 2007 ... In an interview with The Financial Times, Hillary Clinton questions the theories behind free trade. [subscription] Albany County District Attorney David Soares had to subpoena Eliot Spitzer's office to get Darren Dopp's diary, which one observer thinks indicates Spitzer "isn't ...
The Day in Gossip: Ethan Hawke's Secret Chick; Amy Sacco's London Flat!
Dec 03, 2007 ... Ethan Hawke has been "incredibly in love" with his children's nanny for two years. [Gatecrasher] Paparazzo who was pushed after snapping sneaky pics of Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem kissing just wants "my stuff back." [Page Six] Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have ...
The (Big) Round-Up: Monday.
Dec 03, 2007 ... A Japanese New Yorker makes some good investments. [NY Times] A couple's hunt for a Manhattan rental leads to bed bugs and tension in the relationship. [NY Times] Potential buyers rent and wait for the market to change. [NY Times] Brooklynites are drawn to ...
Obama in Boston: Change That Doesn't Include Bush or Clinton.
Dec 03, 2007 ... BOSTON - Barack Obama reveled in his apparent Iowa momentum on Sunday night, even after moving on from the Hawkeye State to a low-cost fundraiser in Boston's Park Plaza Castle. "I just got back from Iowa, where it appears we're doing pretty good," he told a cheering crowd ...
The Week in DVR: Richard Dreyfuss' Opus; Happy 40th, Julia Roberts!
Dec 03, 2007 ... MONDAY Monday's future just got a little bit bleaker. Dancing With the Stars (ABC)--whose finale last Tuesday earned the network its best ratings on that night in over seven years--cha-cha-cha-ed out of our lives. CBS canceled their December 10th debates, as the Democratic ...
Toodle-Oo, Velcro! Yes, Boys, Briefcases are Back.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Hey, fellas! Throw away those tattered messenger bags you bought during your college years, because briefcases are back in a big way. "I wanted to look professional but not too professional, and hated the idea of carrying a briefcase around like my Dad's boxy, old-fashioned ...
In the Kitchen With Mr. Wizard.(Recipe)
Dec 03, 2007 ... "If I want to make a mayonnaise, why should I use only one?" asked Herve This, using four wire whisks grasped in one hand to whip an egg yolk and oil in a stainless mixing bowl. With his French accent, flop of white hair and mandarin-collared shirt, Mr. This--who is widely regarded as the ...
Gawker Loses Third Editor in Three Days.
Dec 03, 2007 ... On Friday, Nov. 30, readers of an item on Gawker.com which was nominally about author and editor Keith Gessen were told that the Web site's managing editor, Choire Sicha, and editor Emily Gould were quitting. On Monday, Dec. 3, nightlife editor Josh Stein told The Media Mob, ...
Clinton Criticizes Obama's Ambition? Really?
Dec 03, 2007 ... In 1965, fully 100 years after the death of the Confederacy, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, at long last enshrining into federal law the right of all Americans to participate fully and equally in the political process. The following year, six-year-old ...
Newsweek's Isikoff: I Had Story on Rudy's Terror Money Before <i>Voice</i>'s Barrett.
Dec 03, 2007 ... This week's issue of Newsweek contains a story by DC investigative reporter Michael Isikoff on Rudy Giuliani's ties to terror-financing outfits in the Middle East. The piece treads much of the same ground as a Village Voice story by Wayne Barrett published last week. Today, in a blog post ...
The Afternoon Wrap: Monday.
Dec 03, 2007 ... In Manhattan, it's easy to forget that just across the East River nice three-bedroom apartments rent for $1,800 a month. [OuterB] Take absolutely all of the fun and the challenge out of holiday shopping. [WSJ] Wow. Danny Meyer's Shake Shack is now accepting orders by ...
Events for Tuesday, December 4, 2007.
Dec 03, 2007 ... 9 a.m. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace unveils new 17 ton High Mobility Engineer Excavator built for the U.S. Army service in Iraq and Afghanistan at Tavern on the Green. 10 a.m. The Writers' Guild will picket at NewsCorp, Sixth Avenue and 48th ...
At FIDF Gala, Guests Treated to Reggae, Rice.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Security was very tight on Saturday night at the Metropolitan Pavilion, where the annual Friends of the Israel Defense Forces gala was being held. Inside, some 1,600 guests in black-tie attire played casino games, ate sushi, bid on auction items and listened to the musical styling of ...
Remains of the Day: The Golden Compass, Amy Tan, Hank Azaria.
Dec 03, 2007 ... I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence will tackle Chuck Palahniuk's book Survivor for his next project. Perseus Books Group is Publishers Weekly's Publisher of the Year. "By taking on the contracts of 124 publishers formerly distributed by the bankrupt PGW, Perseus became the ...
Price of 31 West 52nd? $595 M., SL Green Says.
Dec 03, 2007 ... It seems the Deutsche Bank-owned building at 31 West 52nd Street sold to Albert Behler's Paramount Group for just shy of $600 million, according to SL Green, the city's biggest office landlord. Last month, we reported that the building went for more than $500 million, though SL ...
Elsewhere: Clinton, Spitzer, Bruno.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Obama uses a Clinton tactic in attacking her for attacking him, writes Ben. Noam Schieber thinks Hillary's attacks may backfire by fueling Obama's fund-raising. Alicia Colon thinks that the city should reconsider bringing NASCAR to Staten Island. She's also heard ...
TNR's Foer on Beauchamp Retraction: 'There's a Baseline Level of Trust You Have in Writers'.
Dec 03, 2007 ... New Republic editor Frank Foer's nearly 7,000-word retraction of his magazine's Scott Thomas Beauchamp stories has already received plenty of attention since appearing this weekend. But it's not immediately clear what precipitated its publication. Based on Mr. Foer's account, ...
Ridley Scott to Make Gucci Film.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Our fellow blog, The Culture Czar, reported earlier today that the storied Gucci dynasty will be the subject of a new film by blood-and-guts director Ridley Scott. (Yes, the same guy who made Gladiator and G.I. Jane.) What's more, as Fashionista reminded us this afternoon, Mr. Scott is not ...
Julia Roberts Au Naturel? Au Contraire!
Dec 03, 2007 ... Julia Roberts is not a fan of showing her naked bod in front of the camera. But those who enjoyed getting a good, long look at the actress' legs peeking out of a bubble bath in Pretty Woman (all "nude" scenes came compliments of a sultry body double) will want to see director Mike Nichol's ...
Spitzer Calls in the Press Pros.
Dec 03, 2007 ... After his press conference this morning, Eliot Spitzer took one on-topic question and departed, leaving reporters with queries on and more than a few topics. And although he is expected to make a few remarks at his major fund-raiser tonight, a spokesman for Spitzer said the governor will ...
Washington Post's Kurtz Criticizes Paper's Obama Story.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has weighed in on the controversy over his paper's front-page story last week which gave space to false rumors that Barack Obama is a Muslim. Writes Mr. Kurtz, in a WashingtonPost.com chat: It's always a subject of journalistic debate as to ...
Sears Also Running for Queens Borough President?
Dec 03, 2007 ... City Councilwoman Helen Sears is another council member who will be term-limited out of office in 2009 and may be running for a higher office. Sears is seeking donations up to $3,850, the Campaign Finance Board's contribution limit for borough president candidates, at a ...
Manhattan Weekend Box Office: Savages and Schadenfreude, Awake a Snoozer.
Dec 03, 2007 ... With only one wide release--MGM's Awake (No. 6)--the box office had a slow weekend, with few, if any, changes either here or nationally in the top five. But that didn't keep The Savages (No. 8) from making an impression. On two screens in the city, the Tamara Jenkins family drama starring ...
Hitchens on Hanukkah and Holiday Culture Wars.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Inspired by the onset of the "annual culture war about the display of cribs, mangers, conifers, and other symbols on public land," secular ringleader Christopher Hitchens gets all hot-headed in Slate and writes about Hannukah as the celebration of "Maccabean peasants who wanted to destroy ...
SL Green Nabs 388-390 Greenwich for $1.575 B.
Dec 03, 2007 ... SL Green, the city's largest office landlord, has agreed to buy Citigroup's two towers at 388-390 Greenwich Street for over $1.575 billion. SL Green CEO Marc Holliday announced today during the public company's investor conference that SL Green, in a partnership with the real ...
Today in National Polls: Rudy Slips, Clinton Leads Dems.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Nationally, Rudy Giuliani's lead has slipped from twelve points to only three points higher than Mike Huckabee, while Hillary Clinton still leads Democrats with 37 percent to Obama's 24. [Rasmussen] A poll released ...
Another Addition to Journal's D.C. Bureau.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The Wall Street Journal has made another move to beef up its Washington bureau. Gorkana, excerpted by Fishbowl DC, reports: Joe White, Detroit Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal, will be joining the Washington Bureau as a Senior Editor, overseeing a team of reporters ...
As No. 7 Extension Kicks Off, Cost Questions Loom.
Dec 03, 2007 ... In a press conference in the Times Square subway station today, the mayor announced the groundbreaking (without shovels or dirt) of the 1.5-mile extension of the No. 7 subway line, a keystone in the city's efforts to expand midtown to the far West Side. While officials, ...
Manhattan House Tenants Block Evictions.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The same judge who ruled in favor of Sheffield57 tenants last March has delivered a similar decision for market-rate tenants of the Manhattan House, ...
Council Candidate Evan Thies Rages Against the Machine.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Twenty-eight-year-old City Council candidate Evan Thies of Williamsburg thinks the local 2009 races are a fight between two factions of the Democratic party. "The truth is, even though everybody is a Democrat, there are essentially two parties," he said when I sat down with him ...
Oscar de la Renta Warms Fall Fashion, Anna Wintour.
Dec 03, 2007 ... It's springtime for Oscar in autumn! We just came from Oscar de la Renta's Pre-Fall 2008 show, held in an old church on Park Avenue and 63rd Street. It seems even Old School fashion bigwigs like Mr. De la Renta are starting to acknowledge the fact that balmy temps can, these days, extend ...
Tube Surfing: My Robot Friend "Robot High School".
Dec 03, 2007 ... Howard Robot, a k a My Robot Friend, the Devo-inspired, one-man beats band that emerged from New York's electro-clash underground in 2001, has released a video for the title track of his new album, Robot High School due out next year. Don't be fooled by its flashy, seemingly ...
Pritzker-Winner Koolhaas Picked to Design One Madison Park Tower.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The developers of the new condo development at One Madison Park on East 22nd Street have selected the New York firm of Harvard achitecture and urban design professor Rem Koolhaas to design part of the two-building development. Mr. Koolhaas will design the 22-story part of the development ...
Bloomberg, Again, on Giuliani's Travel Expenses.
Dec 03, 2007 ... At this morning's press conference, Michael Bloomberg seemed to put a damper on talk that his administration will get any more involved in the issue of Rudy Giuliani's practice of billing obscure city agencies for out of town travel expenses. In response to a reporter's ...
CNN's Brown Responds to Lawsuit Threat from Conservative Group.
Dec 03, 2007 ... CNN's Campbell Brown has responded to conservative group Citizens United, which last week threatened to sue the network after being described in a report, presented by Ms. Brown, as a "fringe militia." In a statement to the blog Fishbowl DC, Ms. Brown says: I'm glad ...
Carving Out the Editors.
Dec 03, 2007 ... James Campbell of The Guardian considers "restorations" through the publication of Raymond Carver's short stories with handy slicing and rewriting work of his editor Gordon Lish taken out. On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Native Son by Richard Wright are other restoration cases that have ...
Meet Harry Mount: Wanker, Wordsmith.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Harry Mount is the author of a playful and, considering the historically staid subject matter, irreverent book on the principles of Latin, Amo, Amas, Amat ...and All That (Short Books). New Yorker scribe Lauren Collins writes a fittingly playful, albeit not altogether irreverent, "Talk of ...
Joanna Newsom to Perform at B.A.M.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Harpist-turned-psych folk poster girl Joanna Newsom will follow Sufjan Stevens', um, wand waves and perform with an orchestra at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Feb. 8 next year. She'll sing her dreamy, folk-inspired songs and pluck strings on her massive harp in Brooklyn after a two-day ...
Tom Petty to Soft Rock Super Bowl.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Don't expect any exciting "wardrobe malfunctions" or giant phallic shadows at this year's Super Bowl halftime show. Tom Petty and the ...
Brad Pitt Ignores Toxicity on Today.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Brad Pitt took to the Today show this morning, where he chatted with Ann Curry about his new foundation, called "Make it Right," which plans to build some 150 "green" homes in New Orleans' battered 9th Ward. Curiously, there was no talk of the high toxicity levels in the soil, which was ...
Conde Nast Gives Hollywood Sepia Tint.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Leave it to the nostalgic brass at Conde Nast Media Group to nudge Hollywood, if only for a night, back to its Golden-Age heyday. On Thursday evening, to celebrate the publishing powerhouse's "Movies Rock" TV special, clothing label Guess hosted a party at St. Vibiana's Cathedral in L.A ....
Bloomberg and Spitzer on Westward Expansion.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Michael Bloomberg and Eliot Spitzer just unveiled a new sign at the 42nd Street station pointing to the expanding 7 subway line, which, when completed, will extend to 10th Avenue by the Hudson Yards. "Whereever the subways have blazed a trail, the people have followed," ...
Indian Point, Congressional Races.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Andrew Cuomo wants the Indian Point nuclear plant's license pulled. [Daily News] One of the Republicans challenging Kirsten Gillibrand is trying to use the support she has from Hillary allies against her. [Capitol Confidential] A former Bloomberg aide is ...
Google Lord Nevill-Manning Buys $85,000 Closet in Tribeca.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Web guru Craig Nevill-Manning heads Google's engineering office in New York, which means he's in charge of something like 13,000 people. So it's good to know he has a comfortable Manhattan penthouse, or two, for unwinding after work. The New York Times reported in January that ...
Subprime Mess Soils Even People With Good Credit.
Dec 03, 2007 ... The Wall Street Journal this morning tosses cold water on the image of the average subprime mortgage borrower as some sort of luckless soul with poor credit and even poorer financial prospects. It turns out the subprime imbroglio has snagged even those Americans with fine credit histories ....
Columbia to Host Former 'White House Correspondent' Jeff Gannon.
Dec 03, 2007 ... A reader forwarded me this email invitation from The Columbia Political Union, a faculty-student group at Columbia University: Friendly Fire Series: Discussion with Former White House Correspondent Jeff Gannon Wednesday, December 3rd at 7:00pm in the Harison Room, 2nd ...
Serrano: Time to Revisit Bruno's Problems.
Dec 03, 2007 ... Over the last few rough months for Eliot Spitzer, it's been easy to forget that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has problems of his own. One Democratic official I spoke to hopes that the big Times story on Bruno this weekend--it dealt with Bruno's employment with an ...
Gary Barnett on Other West Side Rail Yard Bids: 'They're Flawed'.
Dec 04, 2007 ... We sat down with Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development, to talk about his firm's bid for the West Side rail yards. Mr. Barnett also talked about Extell's failed bid ...
Attack-Dog Edwards Taking a Break.
Dec 04, 2007 ... John Edwards puts out his second ad in as many days, displaying what might be called a "kinder, gentler" Edwards than his campaign has been pushing in this primary. In the last few days, the third-place candidate seems to be aiming at providing fodder for voters (and press) ...