Zak Pelaccio Cutting the Fat, Glazing Turnips Instead
Who Will Be New York's Next Chief City Planner? And Does It Matter?
Doesn't Anyone Love One57?
Rumor Roundup: Betabeat Becomes a Bunch of Glassholes, Prince Harry Hails a Hailo and Zuck Celebrates a Bday
Changes at The New York Times Book Review
Ridiculous Candidate Gets Ridiculous Endorsement: Jimmy McMillan Crowned Papaya King
Off the Record
Who Will Be New York's Next Chief City Planner? And Does It Matter?
Cannes: Promising Flicks Light Up the Screens as Gloomy Skies Prevail
Doesn’t Anyone Love One57?
Poor, lonely, luxury condo tower! Unlike the co-ops lining Central Park to the East and the West, whose residents really love them, it seems like One57′s new residents are only interested in it for its money. Or, more precisely, how their money might become even more money if they buy apartments there.
As the condo’s top-floor units go into contract, New Yorker’s real estate community has been speculating on who the super-secretive billionaires buying there are. Tantalizingly, Extell confirmed two contracts for more than $90 million, but for months and months and months, there’s been no indication of who the buyers might be. So imagine the collective glee when The Wall Street Journal revealed that one of the buyers was billionaire hedge funder William Ackman. Sort of. Read More
Rumor Roundup: Betabeat Becomes a Bunch of Glassholes, Prince Harry Hails a Hailo and Zuck Celebrates a Bday
Glasshole Missed Connection Betabeat finally had the distinct pleasure of trying the dorky looking face computer we love to mock so much at a party last night at Meetup HQ. We (only slightly drunkenly) approached a tall white dude donning Google Glass and timidly asked if we might be able to try it on. When we slipped on the device (in slate!), the display was incredibly blurry–not due to our eyesight, but because Glass specifically calibrates to the wearer’s eye. It was hard as hell to see, but the voice commands worked almost seamlessly, impressive since we were at a loud party.
The device’s functionality is fairly limited: you can take a picture, record video and get directions to and from places. It also has the added benefit of making you look like a complete dork while somehow also attracting swaths of attractive ladies to get up real close to your face. Read More
Changes at The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is modernizing under the editorship of Pamela Paul, who was appointed to the positon in early April. The section announced three changes in a new column in this Sunday’s issue (it was posted online today). Starting this weekend, the e-book bestseller list, which first joined the printed list in early 2011, will be online only. Additionally, book prices will no longer be included for any books. Read More
Ridiculous Candidate Gets Ridiculous Endorsement: Jimmy McMillan Crowned Papaya King
In what has to be the best endorsement of the mayor’s race so far, Jimmy McMillan from The Rent is Too Damn High Party has earned a nod from none other than Papaya King.
The cheapo hot dog eatery not only plans to promote Mr. McMillan and his mutton chops in its stores, but has invited him to treat its new location on St. Mark’s Place–which will be celebrating its grand opening tomorrow–as an “unofficial” campaign headquarters. It’s also planning to introduce a new specialty hot dog, “The Jimmy McMillan,” in his honor. Read More
Off the Record
Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Dec. 11, 1995.
In one of the few instances of the Justice Department strong-arming journalists since the Nixon Administration, U.S. attorneys in Miami have convened a Federal grand jury to discover the identities of two reporters’ sources. In the process, Federal Government lawyers on the case have Read More
Cannes: Promising Flicks Light Up the Screens as Gloomy Skies Prevail
CANNES, France — Gloomy skies may be hanging over the south of France, but psychedelic philosophizing is lighting up the screens indoors. Ari Folman’s The Congress opened up the Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes last night with a loopy dose of future shock featuring Robin Wright as a washed-up variation of herself who sells Read More
Gizmodo Pivots From Gadgets to Design
Gizmodo, Gawker media’s tech blog, is getting a new editor and a new focus. Geoff Manaugh, a former senior editor at Dwell Magazine and contributing editor at Wired UK, will take over at Gizmodo. Mr. Manaugh will bring BLDGBLOG, his architecture and design website, along with him.
“We’ve hired Geoff Manaugh, one of the very coolest writers on design and technology, as EIC,” Gawker owner Nick Denton told us. “He’s a big deal in his field. The only non-architect to lecture at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture.” Read More
To Do Friday: Can I Have Some More?
Designer Oli Spencer founded his label Oliver Spencer in 2002. A self-taught tailor, the British designer marries traditional cuts with street wear while drawing inspiration from Americana, Japan’s cool kids, hunting and military clothes, and the costumes of Sandy Powell, who did the Martin Scorsese films Gangs of New York and The Aviator. Spencer launched Read More
Longtime Writers Out at The Village Voice
We knew this day would come. The Village Voice has made good on its threats and fired three longtime writers: nightlife columnist Michael Musto, theater critic Michael Feingold and food critic Robert Sietsema. Last week, which was particularly devastating for New York media, two top Village Voice editors–Will Bourne and Jessica Lustig–resigned rather than lay off five writers, as Read More
