WTF #6: Gawker’s Obsession with Julia Allison

This WTF is sort of a niche post, probably most relevant to devout followers of Gawker (like myself). However, one peeve I have with the site is what seems to be its nonstop coverage of some chick named Julia Allison. I have no idea what this woman does, nor do I know why my favorite blog writes a post about her daily. It’s usually something crude, crass, and about her being a slut/whore/publicity mongerer, but really, its enough. Searching her name on Gawker’s records reveals over 350 hits (in less than a second, no less). It’s disgusting. Gawker elevates her to levels of fame that only bimbos like Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian could could achieve.

Then I looked her up on Wikipedia. Apparently, Julia Allison has a job in publishing (Gawker’s niche in addition to gossip) and went to college, so score two points for her. Still, Gawker needs to find some other lame fodder to fill in their four billion posts a day (I know, look who’s talking, right?) rather than just easily reaching into the Julia Allison chum bucket. In fact, if it’s really a slow news day at the snarkiest site on the web, the Marc Jacobs-and-his-boytoys story mill is much more entertaining. Just a suggestion.

A Hot Tranny Mess Between Bravo, NBC-Universal, Lifetime, Weinsteins

Hold onto your keyboards, this is gonna be FIERCE!

Much to the joy of women and gay men (and to the chagrin of most straight men), Project Runway, Bravo’s reality juggernaut that has spawned countless same-formula copies, will be returning for another FIERCE (ok, we promise, no more Christian Siriano jokes) season this July, with the finalists vying for the title at Fashion Week in September.  However, this season is a watershed in the ProjRun series.  Season 5 will be the last season aired on Bravo and the last season shot entirely in New York.  Why?

TV Guide reported in April that the show’s producers, The Weinstein Company, signed a five year deal to move the cable success to Lifetime, in time for the Season 6 (*UGH*) premiere.  But here’s the catch: The Weinsteins totes forgot to tell NBC Universal they were moving the show, so in response, NBC Universal filed a civil suit saying that the Weinsteins violated their rights.  In truth, the Weinsteins had already finalized the Lifetime deal waaay before they were even finished renegotiating their contract with NBC, but in addition, the NBC contract also stated that the show was to be moved to a larger network (they suggested USA or NBC itself).  Plus, they want to move the entire production out to Los Angeles.  Looks like the peacock was just too slow on this one.  Oh well, one minute you’re in, and the next minute…

You know the rest.

OTB Saved, Drifters Rejoice

Last week, in our ode to slick casino ads, we reported that OTB, arguably the seediest chain of anything in New York, was on the verge of shutting down due to Mayor Bloomberg’s orders and the inability to reach a revenue deal with the state government. Now, it appears that OTB has been saved (for now, anyways). The New York Times reported today that a deal finally arose between City and State officials, which now allows OTB to stay open, saving some 1500 jobs and keeping countless shady characters entertained while betting on exacta boxes without having to go to Belmont. In the new deal:

“The city will earn some $4 million from the winning-bets surcharge and $3.25 million more annually as part of a three-year agreement that lets OTB air its races on two city television channels.”

That’s pretty paltry, considering that citywide, OTB generates nearly $1 billion annually, taking in $125 million as profit. I had no idea that a place that smells like drunk deadbeats and Marlboro Lights had so much money pouring into it.

But the best quote of the article had to go to OTB attendee Ed Woods. Woods, a “seafarer” in his late 70’s, told the New York Times that:

“[Losing OTB] would have been tough on us retired people because we have no other place to go.”

Oh really, Mr. Woods? I know a place where lots of retired people go.

Europe To Get Free iPhones, Actually, Not Really…

Remember last week when Steve Jobs announced the new iPhone, followed by a subsequent, “Oh ma goddddd!” when people saw the $199 price tag? That’s so cheap, right? Wrong, bitch. Once again, the Europeans are showing us that Americans overpay for everything. According to Digital Trends, UK carrier O2 would be giving customers free (yes, free) iPhones if they sign up for a more expensive monthly service plan, and in Germany, carrier T-Mobile will subsidize the cost of iPhones to only ONE EURO if customers subscribe to the most expensive monthly plan (€69 per month). Wanna upgrade to a 16GB model? Only €89 per month with phones costing a mere €19.95.

So are the little to no cost phones really cheaper? We’ll save you the time and math.

According to the O2 site, the free iPhone only applies to the £45 and £75 monthly service plans, which run a minimum of 18 months. So, in the UK, a free iPhone really costs about $88 and $147, respectively, per month. For Germans, the 8GB phone is $106 a month (plus a buck fifty for the phone), and for the 16GB, $137 a month with $31 for the phone. Stateside, the new iPhone will cost $199 or $299 depending on which size you buy, but the monthly fee is substantially less than its European counterparts (only $69.95 a month).

So in the end, the Brits will pay $1,584 and $2,646 total, respectively, while Americans will pay $1,877.80 and $1,977.80 total, respectively. Assuming the Germans are on an 18 month contract (like Britain, although their pricing plans have not been published online), they will pay $1,909.50 and $2,485.95 total, respectively.

Our advice? Buy a smaller phone in Britain, but fork over the $299 for the 16GB here. Comparatively, the latter is your biggest bang for the buck.

It’s Almost Here…

Hipsters, Yuppies, Urbanites, and Eurotrash unite! The new Ikea Brooklyn is almost here!!! Set in the gritty-yet-getting-more-gentrified neighborhood of Red Hook (Wikipedia even gives the store its own section. How nice!), Brooklynites and New Yorkers alike will no doubt flock to the Swedish emporium en masse come its grand opening on June 18. The store will sell the same inexpensive, trendy Scandinavian inpsired furniture with really funny sounding names, set against the backdrop of New York Harbor (meaning you can eat gravlax and lingonberry jam while inhaling the fresh maritime stench surrounding you). And you can even get there via the free shuttle running to two major subway stops!

New York Magazine is even seeing how the new one will stack up compared to the current NYC-area stronghold in Elizabeth, and some folks are even camping out, forgoing essentials like toilet paper and social lives, so that they can be the first to buy a beddinge, or a grankula, or…whatever.

Häpnadsväckande!

Post Reporter Misses Humanitarian Mission to Africa, Parties in Vegas Instead

Couldn’t resist posting this after seeing it on Gawker. A reporter for Page Six Magazine (the retarded, half-cousin of this) laments about missing her flight to Africa, her reason for wanting to go there, and her backup plan. Words don’t do her justice, so I’ll let her explain:

“I was very excited to go – I was going to help open a school there – but I missed my flight by 10 minutes! I had really wanted to see the country and all the turmoil that is happening over there; it’s so trendy in the news, but I was hoping to see it firsthand. Coincidentally, the minute I missed my plane, my BlackBerry started buzzing off the hook and next thing I knew, I was on my way to a diamond convention at the Venetian Hotel with Russell Simmons. After looking at sparkly things for a day (and discovering that red diamonds are more expensive and rarer than blue ones!), I decided to indulge in some R&R away from it all in Death Valley.”

Wow, did she really just say that?  That’s almost as bad as this.

Coming Soon to Vegas…Michael Jackson?

Well here’s something shocking: Everyone’s favorite wacky has-been (no, not this one) is reportedly considering becoming a headlining act in Las Vegas. An article in this morning’s New York Times (no link, because I actually found this in a newspaper!) states that Jackson’s primary interest in such a feat is to mostly repay a huge debt to Colony Capital. You may know them better as the people foreclosing on his pedophile playpen. Coincidentally, Colony owns a major Las Vegas hotel and has a huge stake in some other shitty properties out there. The article also states that Jackson is currently living about 60 miles outside of Vegas in some funny-sounding town, after a three year globe-trotting stint to avoid the press. The article was also carried by Reuters.

And no Michael Jackson article is complete without saying that he molested little boys, but was later acquitted. And thankfully, that was the last time a famous icon got off the hook for raping little kids.

Wait a minute…

Weekend Wrapup – Hookah, Brooklyn, and Father’s Day

It’s nice not to blog about pop culture media sometimes, and this weekend, I took refuge from furiously scouring the internet for stories (which I’ll resume at the end of this post…I have one lined up already). My cousin came to visit for the weekend and stayed over at the apartment. After some catching up, I headed to midtown to meet Kristen and Jeremy for a nice relaxing evening in the East Village. I found my favorite sketchy hookah bar and the three of us spent an hour there sipping Egyptian Lemonades and smoking banana hookah. Along the way, there was an interesting conversation where Jeremy informed Kristen about the time he first met her (which, according to him, she didn’t remember at all), and needless to say, some awkward conversation and glances followed. Something about a frat party, some drinks, and hookup embarassment strange alcohol-fueled evening between mutual friends at a frat party. Fun times!

Saturday ended up being much more relaxed than I wanted it to. Sanyu was in town visiting some museums and hanging out in Brooklyn, while I told Kristen that I wanted to go to Vampire Weekend. Unfortunately, both parties thought I was gonna hang out with the other, which led to me doing neither, which was good because around 4 it started raining buckets and I stayed in. Later, I ended up hiking out to Williamsburg which involved staring down the Lexington Avenue platform at a 4 train sitting just feet away from the station, which then led to me getting soaked in the rain trying to hail a taxi, which got caught in traffic, so I hopped out at 33rd street and took the subway the rest of the way to Williamsburg. So glad to see Sanyu after a nearly two year hiatus. After wandering around for an hour, we got some pizza, then I said goodbye and hopped the subway home.

Sunday, Father’s Day, was a boring day, save for the family drama that ensued at my Aunt’s house in Scarsdale, but I enjoyed some tasty steak. Mostly a housecleaning day with getting my food prepared for the week, doing laundry, and catching up, but nonetheless, hoping that the week and next weekend will be much more exciting.