Pipes Output http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=KoYUWUa33RGClZC3_g6H4A Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:02:13 -0800 http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/ http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/vampire-weekend-200912 The indie rockers of Vampire Weekend slyly riff on their prepster image for a second album, <i>Contra.</i> http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/vampire-weekend-200912 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/12/fanfair-gift-guide-200912 The best picks for a beautiful holiday season. http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/12/fanfair-gift-guide-200912 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/hitchens-200912 Just when Stieg Larsson was about to make his fortune with the mega-selling thriller <i>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,</i> the crusading journalist dropped dead. Now some are asking how much of his fiction&ndash;which exposes Sweden&rsquo;s dark currents of Fascism and sexual predation&ndash;is fact. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/hitchens-200912 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/twilight The film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer&#8217;s best-selling teen saga continues to capture young hearts (and young-at-hearts), thanks in no small part to the smoldering chemistry of co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Here in VF.com&#8217;s extensive archive, you&#8217;ll find everything you need to contract a full-blown case of <i>Twilight</i> fever. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/twilight Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/wolcott-200912 Amid the smoldering wreckage of the popular culture, the author blames Reality TV, which has not only ruined network values, destroyed the classic documentary, and debased the art of bad acting, but also fomented class warfare, antisocial behavior, and murder. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/wolcott-200912 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-outtakes-B-200912 As <i>Twilight&rsquo;</i>s reluctant bloodsucker, <i>Vanity Fair&rsquo;</i>s December cover star has made teenage girls (and their mothers) swoon. To accompany Evgenia Peretz's profile, which addresses Pattinson's relationship with co-star Kristen Stewart and Hollywood's doubts about casting him as Edward Cullen, VF.com presents the second of five slide shows featuring outtakes from his epic session with photographer Bruce Weber. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-outtakes-B-200912 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2005/02/guccione200502 Launching Penthouse in 1965 to subsidize his painting, Bob Guccione turned graphic porn, muckraking journalism, and tabloid headlines into one of the greatest success stories in magazine history, the cornerstone of a multi-million-dollar publishing empire. Then it all came tumbling down. Patricia Bosworth reconnects with the fallen king, who may have lost his fortune, buried his great love, and alienated his family, but who still remains focused on the future. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2005/02/guccione200502 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/postscript-200912 The X-Rated Emperor http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/postscript-200912 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/09/opium-dens-200009 Driven by romantic, spiritual, and medicinal imperatives, the author goes in search of something everyone tells him no longer exists: an opium den. From Hong Kong to Bangkok to the Golden Triangle, he is offered every decadence known to the East&#8212;and learns the truth about a legendarily perfect drug. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/09/opium-dens-200009 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/letters-200912 Clouds of hatred; assessing Levi; a short form for big bucks; stupid in America; flawless Wallis; and more. http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/letters-200912 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/11/robert-mckee-200911 tk http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/11/robert-mckee-200911 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/gladwell-200912 Malcolm Gladwell explains Christmas to Craig Brown. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/gladwell-200912 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/proust-andre-agassi-200912 As a brash young upstart, he stretched the limits of tennis etiquette. Yet his decade-long rivalry with Pete Sampras and eight Grand Slam victories would establish him as one of the greatest to ever roam the baseline. Here, the author of the memoir <i>Open</i>&ndash;out this month&ndash;muses on family, Federer, and finding his true calling. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/proust-andre-agassi-200912 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/cuteness-200912 America has been flooded by a tsunami of cute—we're drowning in puppies and kittens and bunnies and cupcakes—that is transforming marketing (the Geico Gecko), automobiles (the Smart car), and movies (Up). But is the world bound to sour on all this sweetness? http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/cuteness-200912 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/graydon200912 December 2009: Editor's Letter http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/graydon200912 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/12/summers-200912 Throughout his dazzling but controversial career—top World Bank economist, Treasury secretary, Harvard University president, and now head of the White House National Economic Council—Larry Summers has been his own worst enemy. As friends, colleagues, and Summers himself try to explain his reputation for arrogance, bullying, and insensitivity, the author learns about his more private battles, and why many believe he's still the M.V.P. in any financial crisis. http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/12/summers-200912 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-200912 Not since Titanic unleashed Leo-mania has an actor sparked the overnight adulation that greeted Robert Pattinson's 2008 debut as Edward Cullen in Twilight. As the vampire saga&rsquo;s next installment arrives, the author explores the frenzy, isolation, and sheer embarrassment of Pattinson's past year, his instant connection with co-star Kristen Stewart, and the life he wants when this $10 million gig is over. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-200912 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/astor-trial-verdict-200912 Reporting on the explosive finale of the five-month Astor trial, in which Anthony Marshall was found guilty of swindling his mother, the author delves into the jury's difficult, even stormy deliberations, the shock of the Marshall family, and the poignant response of Brooke Astor's inner circle. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/astor-trial-verdict-200912 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/sexual-predators-200912 After months of prowling Internet chat rooms, posing as the mother of two young daughters, Detective Michele Deery thought she had a live one: "parafling," a married, middle-aged man who claimed he wanted to have sex with her kids. But was he just playing a twisted game of seduction? Both the policewoman and her target give the author their versions of the truth, in a case that challenges the conventional wisdom about online sexual predators, and blurs the lines among crime, "intent," and enticement. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/sexual-predators-200912 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/contents-200912 December's Table of Contents. http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/contents-200912 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/cirpriani-200912 With the cosmopolitan magic that had launched his father&rsquo;s fabled Harry&rsquo;s Bar in Venice a half-century earlier, restaurateur Arrigo Cipriani swooped in to conquer New York caf&eacute; society in 1985, then left his dashing son, Giuseppe, to build a citywide nightlife empire. Their departure, in 2008, was equally dramatic, amid tabloid-splashed charges of tax evasion, Mob ties, and political conspiracy. In London and Venice, the author gets the Ciprianis to talk for the first time about the wreckage of their American dream, and their plans for the rest of the ultra-civilized world. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/cirpriani-200912 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/60-minutes-poll-200912 America weighs in: farewell to swine-flu anxiety, California, and the phrase &ldquo;get &rsquo;er done.&rdquo; And will we find aliens before we cure cancer? <i>60 Minutes</i> and <i>Vanity Fair</i> team up for a new monthly national survey. http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/12/60-minutes-poll-200912 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/10/omar-bin-laden-200910 A son of Osama bin Laden paints an intimate portrait of the man who would become the world&rsquo;s most infamous terrorist. http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/10/omar-bin-laden-200910 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/david-letterman-200910 One of the few women ever to write for <i>Late Night with David Letterman,</i> the author (a longtime <i>V.F.</i> contributor) remembers a hostile, sexually charged atmosphere. What&rsquo;s to be done? Start by breaking late night&rsquo;s all-male gag order. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/david-letterman-200910 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/michael-jackson-excerpt-slideshow-200910 A photographer reminisces about his exclusive portraits of the future King of Pop, taken between 1974 and 1984. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/michael-jackson-excerpt-slideshow-200910 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/these-little-party-goers-wore-prada.html From PatrickMcMullan.com. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles celebrated its 30th anniversary this weekend, and among the A-list revelers, including Gwen Stefani, James Franco, Kate Beckinsale, Kate Bosworth, Pierce Brosnan, and Takashi Murakami, we spotted these five partygoers walking the pink carpet dressed in Prada and Miu Miu. Can you guess who was wearing which Miuccia Prada&ndash;created ensemble? http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/these-little-party-goers-wore-prada.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:45:17 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/the-president-wants-you-to-know-hes-too-dopey-to-twitter.html “First of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter. I notice that young people—you know, they’re very busy with all these electronics. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone. But I’m a big believer in technology, and I’m a big believer in openness when it comes to the flow of information.” That’s what the president said upon his arrival today in Shanghai as he took questions from Chinese university students, one of whom asked: “Should we be able to use Twitter freely?” So what’s his point? I mean it certainly doesn’t sound like he’s a big believer in technology. Worse, he’s clearly dissembling about his technological acumen—even acumen of the most minor kind. We know the guy is constantly on his Blackberry, that he was during the campaign, and that special provisions were made for him so that he could continue to use his smartphone after his election. So what is this “my thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone?” We know he’s an obsessive emailer from his phone. So, huh? CONTINUE READING at Newser.com » http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/the-president-wants-you-to-know-hes-too-dopey-to-twitter.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:56:28 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/for-ksm-federal-court-is-better-than-no-court-at-all.html By the time Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gets to trial in federal civilian court (in New York, in Virginia, in Pennsylvania, anywhere), America will either be close to or have surpassed the ten-year anniversary of the attacks which form the basis of the government’s allegations against him. And by the time Mohammed has been arraigned, and all of the pretrial issues have been resolved, and all of the preliminary appellate rulings have been laid down, and the trial has been conducted, and the sentence has been rendered, we may even be close to the ten-year anniversary of Mohammed’s capture, in Pakistan, on March 1, 2003, roughly two weeks before the United States went to war against Iraq. Yes, it’s been that long already—nearly seven years and counting—and it will probably be that much longer before we know how Mohammed’s story ends. I was struck this weekend by the ferocity of the opposition to bringing Mohammed to Manhattan for a capital murder trial that will be the largest and most important in American history. The harsh spin from critics is that Mohammed was just given, in the form of more constitutional rights, a big fat juicy kiss of a break from the very same government he says he proudly sought to destroy. These folks, the rich and the poor alike, the powerful and the powerless both, see it as a sign of weakness from the White House about its resolution toward the legal war on terrorism. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/for-ksm-federal-court-is-better-than-no-court-at-all.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:10:16 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/11/anti-immigration-rally-marred-by-neo-nazis.html An anti-immigration tea party at the state capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, was interrupted when a group of Neo-Nazis showed up with a flag bearing Hitler’s face. One of the anti-immigration protestors—they insist their organization is not racist—got into a scuffle with one of the Neo-Nazis before a cop intervened. Watch the shoving match below. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/11/anti-immigration-rally-marred-by-neo-nazis.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:57:12 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/11/the-decade-in-covers-pick-the-best-vf-cover-of-2005.html Nicole Kidman on the July 2005 cover of Vanity Fair. Four years ago, the words “Exposed! Watergate’s ‘Deep Throat’” appeared above Nicole Kidman’s head on the July cover of Vanity Fair. As the aughties give way to the teens, VF.com asks you to vote for the magazine’s 10 best covers of the decade, one for each year. Today, pick your favorite among the 12 covers of 2005. See a slide show of covers after the jump and vote for your favorite. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/11/the-decade-in-covers-pick-the-best-vf-cover-of-2005.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:01:32 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/the-duchess-of-york-hasnt-started-holiday-shopping-yet.html On Wednesday night in New York City, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York held court on the 57th Street flagship of whimsical home-furnishings store Mackenzie-Childs, which was holding a kid-friendly holiday f&ecirc;te to benefit Anthony Kennedy Shriver's Best Buddies, an organization that helps volunteers develop one-on-one relationships with the developmentally challenged. And what a court it was. Guests of all sizes were greeted with royal fanfare played by two trumpeting heralds while jesters in fantastic costumes roamed the party and finger food (from cute pigs-in-a-blanket to an all-grown-up tuna tartar) was circulated. When in the U.K., the Duchess is involved with a comparable organization called MacIntyre. We caught up with Sarah, who was looking modest in a skirt suit, and she told us a bit about her involvement: "I made a documentary. I took eight mentally challenged people up the Himalayas. They were going to be locked up&mdash;you know, institutionalized&mdash;and I said, 'That's not right.' We went 28,000 feet up without oxygen. Sorry, no, that's not right. Twenty-eight thousand is Everest. [It's 29,000 feet, but who's counting after the first 25,000?] We went up 22,000 feet without oxygen." She paused. "You know, we all have our own physical challenges." http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/the-duchess-of-york-hasnt-started-holiday-shopping-yet.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:27:45 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/art-rocks.html The ambiance at the Bowery Hotel. From PatrickMcMullan.com. Hipsters who no longer have a place to congregate thanks to the death of the Beatrice Inn and the Jane Hotel reunited last night at the Bowery Hotel for Art Rocks, what’s fast becoming a staple on the downtown fall benefit circuit. Only in its third year, Art Rocks has become a must-buy ticket for artists, media types, and fashionistas wearing skinny black jeans and designer headgear. Founded in 2007 by Nicole Berrie, a Vanity Fair alum, Art Rocks’s mission is to raise money for the pediatric programs at the Berrie Center at Columbia University Medical Center. Combining her keen sense of art and New York nightlife, Berrie’s event pairs the normal trappings of a benefit—free drinks and tottering girls—with a silent auction curated by Emmett Shine and James Cruickshank of LOLA New York. This year’s auction showcased up-and-coming artists such as Tim Barber, Leo Fitzpatrick, and Brendan Lynch displaying wares that ranged from tie-dyed canvases to black-and-white photographs. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/art-rocks.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:17:28 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/the-mets-apollo-circle-benefit-funds-important-new-york-city-causes.html The ambiance at the Apollo Circle gala. From PatrickMcMullan.com. Last night around 9:30 p.m., had you been strolling by 960 Fifth Avenue, one of New York City&#8217;s &#8220;A-plus&#8221; apartment buildings that, to quote a 1997 New York Times article by Monique P. Yazigi, signifies &#8220;that you are wealthy and social, that you have made it to the pinnacle of what many consider world society,&#8221; you would have seen dozens of Manhattan&#8217;s prettiest young things and their handsome dates stream out of the building&#8217;s Georgian Suite space onto 77th Street for a quick smoke break. And had you glanced back after passing these strangers in the windy night, you would have seen the flowy-gown-clad girls stomp out their cigarettes with the red soles of their Christain Louboutin shoes before they, along with their bowtie-accentuated companions, hopped into a fleet of black Escalades and town cars whose G.P.S.&rsquo;s were programmed for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, five blocks north. The reason for the pre-party? The revelers were getting their champagne swill on before ascending the Met&#8217;s 13-and-a-half-feet-high, 154-feet-wide staircase for the museum&#8217;s annual Carolina Herrera&ndash;sponsored Apollo Circle dance, which is perhaps the most important event on the junior social set&#8217;s fall calendar. Apollo Circle is the Met&#8217;s young-patrons organization, and the gala benefits the institution&#8217;s Fund for Art Conservation. But a bit of investigative journalism reveals that the party also benefits four other major New York City causes. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/the-mets-apollo-circle-benefit-funds-important-new-york-city-causes.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:02:09 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/going-rogue.html Have a newsworthy cocktail hour with our weekly current-events-inspired concoctions. Mixed up by the New York restaurant Japonais (111 East 18th Street; 212-260-2020), this week's cocktail honors the debut of Sarah Palin's new memoir. We're still wondering how she learned to write so fast! Going Rogue 1 oz. sake 1 oz. Mathilde pear liqueur 2 oz. pear juice 1 slice of Asian pear Shake liquid ingredients with ice, and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a pear slice. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/11/going-rogue.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:59 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/the-boys-who-cried-fort-hood-terrorist.html The pundits’ swift verdict, before any real investigation has been conducted, that Major Nidal Hasan’s homicidal rampage at Fort Hood was an act of terrorism is at best poor journalism, not that they trade in the stuff at all, and at worst a mockery of the victims that uses their bodies as mere political cannon fodder. I expect this conduct from talking heads but not from elected officials. Senator Joe Lieberman’s suggestion that we consider Major Hasan's actions at Fort Hood an act of terrorism is brazen politicking with a very awful tragedy. Writing off the actions of Major Hasan as an act of terrorism avoids having to deal with some very big problems and answering some very hard and important questions. Hopefully, a thorough investigation into Hasan will be conducted with the greatest care and capacity. Such an investigation is anathema to some politicians and many pundits, as it may uncover too much awful truth involving things like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the effects on a human being of professionally listening to men and women detail unimaginable horror and atrocity for several hours a day, year after year. Such an investigation might bring up the fact that prolonged wars like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan produce many casualties, often in unlikely places. And it might have to account for the upward spike in suicides in the American military, or even the suicide rate at Fort Hood. (There have been at least 75 soldier suicides since the Afghanistan war began, in 2001.) http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/the-boys-who-cried-fort-hood-terrorist.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:40:12 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/annals-of-political-advertising-the-dirty-low-down-blago-hair-smear.html I was in Illinois the other day, having a beer at a tavern, when my attention was captured by a surreal commercial playing on the TV above the bar. It was the debut political ad of Andy McKenna, a businessman who recently resigned his position as chairman of the state G.O.P. so that he can run for govenor. It's a remarkable spot, in that it uses Rod Blagojevich's toupee-like mop as a symbol of all the corruption that has bedeviled Illinois for the last three decades. Three governors who were earlier convicted of crimes, Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, and George Ryan, are pictured with Blago wigs Photoshopped onto their scalps. In other words, McKenna’s team is trying to tar all of Illinois machine politics with the same Blago hairbrush, or smear it with the same grooming pomade, or—er, whatever tonsorial metaphor works for you. Even the dome of the Illinois statehouse has a Blago wig plopped atop it, making it look alarmingly like a giant penis-puppet. And what I saw at the bar was just the 60-second spot. In the long-form version, viewable online, the state capital, Springfield, is not unlike the spooky dystopia depicted in Apple's infamous “Lemmings” commercial from 1985, only the businessmen and -women marching in zombie lockstep are not falling off cliffs to their doom but wearing uniformly full, fluffy, black, and (by implication of the lugubrious voice-over and ominous lighting) scary Blago wigs. “Too many in Illinois have just become accustomed," the narrator says, “to the culture of ‘The Hair.’” http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/annals-of-political-advertising-the-dirty-low-down-blago-hair-smear.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:34:25 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/does-warren-buffett-know-what-hes-talking-about.html Nobody I know who is smart and rich (albeit much less rich than they used to be) thinks the economy is patched up and ready to roll—except, apparently, Warren Buffet (who I don’t actually know), who announced yesterday that “the financial panic is behind us.” But then he is also a man who believes the future is railroads. The view of my personal focus group of the smart and the rich is a basic one: Their own businesses continue to really suck; some 17% of the country is unemployed or under-employed in an economy built on consumer spending; every bank in the country is still hiding underwater assets which won’t rise until consumer spending does, and consumers can’t spend if they’re unemployed. And then the Dow: It’s going strong precisely because so many companies have fired so many people that their results are looking surprisingly better than expected, so, likely, they keep firing people. Of course my personal focus group of the smart and rich didn’t much see the collapse coming either, so no reason to necessarily think they’ll be the first to glimpse the dawn. CONTINUE READING at Newser.com » http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/does-warren-buffett-know-what-hes-talking-about.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:58:55 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/sarah-palins-rogue-memoir-neutralizes-the-washington-read.html Of all the capital city’s quaint and tribal customs, none may be more singular than the phenomenon known as “The Washington Read.” This is the process in which buyers (or browsers) of the latest books about politics and government turn instantly to the index, and read first—and perhaps only—the parts about themselves. True to form, Sarah Palin has confounded the Washington political establishment yet again: Her new memoir, Going Rogue, is being published next week—without an index! So people who want to find whether Palin has praised or buried them will have to read the whole thing, or at least skim its 413 pages. The excerpts leaked to date are interesting, but hardly shocking. We learn that Palin felt muzzled by the McCain campaign, and would have liked to be herself with the press. But we knew that more or less in real time, didn’t we? We learn that she blames the top McCain aide Nicolle Wallace, at least in part, for her disastrous interviews with Katie Couric, but then insists the campaign did not actually consider them so disastrous. We learn that she was uncomfortable at the cost of the high-end wardrobe the campaign purchased on her behalf. We learn that she did, indeed, want to deliver remarks of her own on Election Night and was blocked by the McCain campaign. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/11/sarah-palins-rogue-memoir-neutralizes-the-washington-read.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:40:22 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/11/qa-emmy-rossum-plans-to-name-her-children-oscar-tony-and-grammy.html Photograph at left by Adam Kuehl. Do you remember what you were doing when you were seven years old? When I was that age, I was playing with Star Wars action figures and seeing how much Bubblicious I could cram into my mouth. But not Emmy Rossum. At the tender age of seven, she was making her professional operatic debut. She performed in Carmen at New York's Metropolitan Opera, and The Damnation of Faust at Carnegie Hall. She shared the stage with Luciano Pavarotti and Pl&aacute;cido Domingo, acting in dozens of productions in six different languages, all before she turned 18. Emmy Rossum is living proof that you probably wasted your adolescence. She's also done pretty well for herself as a young adult. Remember when child actors used to burn out on drugs and become tabloid fodder? Rossum decided to skip the Drew Barrymore fuck-all-of-you-I-want-more-pain-meds stage of her career and move directly into making movies. She's starred or co-starred in films like Mystic River, The Day After Tomorrow, The Phantom of the Opera, and most recently, the leather-and-machine-gun extravaganza Dragonball Evolution. But unlike other young actresses who get saddled with "It Girl" status, she hasn't seemed particularly worried about staying in the spotlight, working only when she really wants to. I met the 23-year-old Rossum at the Savannah Film Festival in Georgia, where she was in town to promote her latest movie, the indie drama Dare (opening today in New York and LA). She and boyfriend Adam Duritz, the Counting Crows singer and dreadlock advocate, went out carousing the night before Dare's screening, at one point visiting a karaoke bar and offering to sing (they were inexplicably turned down for showing up too late). While it could be argued that they're technically a "musician couple," it's difficult to fathom that these two belong in the same league. When Duritz and Rossum are hanging out at home and he tries to break out a little "Round Here," does Rossum just roll her eyes and think, "Whatever, I sang with Pavarotti, bitch?" http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/11/qa-emmy-rossum-plans-to-name-her-children-oscar-tony-and-grammy.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:09:25 -0800 http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/11/how-the-puppets-from-fantastic-mr-fox-were-made-slideshow.html Once Wes Anderson had decided that his sixth feature film would be a stop-motion animation version of Roald Dahl&rsquo;s Fantastic Mr. Fox, about a raffish fox who outsmarts three evil farmers, he called on some of the best names in the puppet-making business to put his characteristically precise vision to life. Based in Manchester, Ian MacKinnon and Peter Saunders first teamed up 22 years ago on a stop-motion version of The Wind in the Willows. Since then, they&rsquo;ve collaborated on countless television commercials and on some of the most successful stop-motion feature films in memory, including Nick Park&rsquo;s Chicken Run, Tim Burton&rsquo;s The Corpse Bride, and Henry Selick&rsquo;s Coraline. But despite their experience, they found Anderson&rsquo;s project to be particularly daunting. &ldquo;Wes had a very clear idea of what he wanted, and I think he made us challenge all our preconceptions about what stop-motion puppets are,&rdquo; says Peter Saunders. &ldquo;I think the fact that he hadn't worked a great deal in stop motion pushed us out of our comfort zone, which forced us to try new ideas, new techniques, and new materials.&rdquo; Most baffling for the animators and puppet makers alike was Anderson&rsquo;s insistence on naivet&eacute;. He didn&rsquo;t want his film to look as slick as, say, The Corpse Bride or Coraline, which are so smooth as to look computer-animated. He instead wanted viewers to notice and embrace the medium of stop-motion itself, which had enchanted him as a child, especially in holiday shorts such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Herky-jerkiness didn&rsquo;t bother him. On the contrary, he sought it out. He chose to shoot on &ldquo;twos,&rdquo; which means that each frame is doubled so that there are effectively 12 frames per second, instead of a more fluid 24. View an extensive slide show after the jump http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/11/how-the-puppets-from-fantastic-mr-fox-were-made-slideshow.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:00:51 -0800