Category: Shallow

When Charlie LeDuff, The Times resident Joseph Mitchell manqué was pried away from the Hell’s Kitchen barstool where he bent countless elbows, there was talk that it was against his will or that he was being moved to the minors. He filed a few lackluster stories on yawn-inducing topics like rats in Beverly Hills, made some enemies in Los Angeles media circles, and generally acquitted himself like the slightly snobbish East Coast transplant he was. (This role is now being filled by The New York Observer‘s Alexandra Jacobs, who has filed hard-hitting but condescending stories from the West Coast on screenwriters, celebrity stylists, and the farmer’s market.)
But, whaddaya know, the LeDuff man appears to have lucked into the gig of a lifetime out there in Cal-ee-fornia. LeDuff’s been doing some heavy-lifting on the recall and election and today files this on Governor-Elect Schwarzenegger (no matter how many times I say that, it still sounds like I misspoke). Suddenly, being sent out to the Times‘ avocado bureau doesn’t seem so bad, does it? Now if we can just do something about Bernard Weinraub…

Best evidence that The Village Voice doesn’t copy edit its “Best of New York” issue, by Matt Haber

best subway line to spot someone reading white teeth or the corrections – L TRAIN
Capturing the NPR zeitgeist of the L TRAIN, these discursive tomes are daily removed from vintage satchels and displayed accordingly. On a recent Brooklyn-bound excursion, a guy with a bunny-eared copy of Franzen’s Saul Bellow-styled smarminess surreptitiously scoped an asymmetrically coiffed woman equally unwrapped in Zadie Smith’s pre-Autograph Man shaggy dog. If the faux literati were pretending to read the Marquis de Sade with their morning coffee, rush hour would be much more interesting. -Brandon Stosuy
“Bunny-eared”? I think the phrase Brandon is looking for is “dog-eared,” right?

First Jesse, then Arnold… then Carl?

Actor Tom Arnold extended his congratulations by phone and told Fox News that he wished he could have attended the victory party. Actor Gary Busey spoke to the crowd and defended Schwarzenegger from the sexual assault allegations that had dogged him in the last few days of the campaign.
…from Foxnews.com

Does Sharon know?

Suggested slogan: Sightly less nauseating than Vanilla Coke.

This just in from the public interest journalists at Page Six: Woody Allen is shopping his memoirs to publishers . According to suspiciously unnamed “publishing sources,” the book “will lay open the secrets of his affairs with Louise Lasser, Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow and his current wife, Soon Yi.” (Not exactly the most alluring list, but you work with what ya’ got.)
Great! Just what we need. More shitty writing wavering violently between self-aggrandizement and self-pity, intellectual name-dropping, pathetic rehashing of jokes that were funny 30 years ago, glorifying of a lost social-climbing New York lifestyle, and a naked grab for immortality. Basically, his last 10 movies only without the pretty young things for eye candy. Can’t wait!
Besides, didn’t Woody already write a book called Getting Even? Maybe this one should be called Without Morals.
50 Dollar bet: Blurb from David Remnick.

3.6 earthquake hits Southern California.
[Earthquake data via the ever-fruitful Fark]

Thinking it was another one of those mean “Morning Zoo” radio pranks, Nobel Prize winner Peter Mansfield doubted his wife when she told him he’d won.
[link via the tireless Fark]