Firstly, congratulations to bananabanabobana, who won the Mr. Jelly Belly Candy Jar! BBB wrote in explaining:

For the past two years, I never could have done without daily dosages of Jelly Belly beans to fuel my day. Recently I withdrew from the candy craze addiction, which I still suffer from on a daily basis. How can I resist such flavor-packed snacks that range from A&W to Watermelon? Maybe my addiction wouldn't have prevailed if the Harry Potter editions of booger to ear wax flavors were the only ones in store. A Jelly Belly jar will surely come as a trophy of my triumph and despair in disciplining myself to stop eating sugary foods. Jelly Belly is such a cool bean!

Now, onto this week's That That-itude. Graffiti-writers-turned-hip-hop duo The Lordz commissioned some of New York's most legendary bombers to tag up some limited edition T-shirts to commemorate the release the band's single "Back in the New York Groove." We're giving away three (yes, three!) tees designed by Haze, Stash and Kaves to three (yes, three!) different readers. Tell us why you want 'em in the comment box below and we shall bestow them upon thee.

The French love a political scandal, and back in 1979, no one caused more outrage from his peers (and thus, undying love from the kids) than Serge Gainsbourg by releasing a reggae version of his country’s national anthem, Rouget de Lisle’s La Marseillaise. With Robbie Shakespeare on bass, Sly Dunbar on drums and Rita Marley on backing vocals, Gainsbourg nonchalantly growls a call to arms that had politicos calling for his deportation. According to Sylvie Simmons’ very funny biography, Jane Birkin remembers that one in particular labeled him a "walking pollution": “He said, how could someone -- and let’s not neglect the fact that the name Ginsburg [the original spelling] is hardly French -- could dare to do the National Anthem with a lot of rastas was poison for him. Serge, I remember, was so shocked. He was nearly crying. But then he found it was great fun that he was no longer on the entertainment page, but on the news page.”

READ MORE »

This week JD Ferguson gives us the first half of his favorite online duo from his favorite online porn company Randy Blue. Meet Midwestern, corn-fed, Nebraska hunk Chris Rockway. "What can I say? I got a thing for straight boys that do gay porn,” says Ferguson of Rockway. Can any of you die-hards guess who next week’s second half will be? Stay tuned, ladies and germs. So without further ado, meet Chris Rockway.

Hometown: Nebraska

Age: 26

Company you shoot for: www.randyblue.com

What's on you iPod?: Mostly rock... Incubus, Tool, Rush, but I have a very eclectic mix for traveling and my many moods/personalities. Everything from metal, classic rock, rap, techno, house, classical and even some old country.

How long have you been in the industry?: One year. I still consider myself new to the industry. No one is getting tired of me, are they?

READ MORE »

It's just been announced this week that Claire Danes will star as Eliza Doolittle, the crass flowergirl who climbs the class ranks with the help of Professor Henry Higgins in the Roundabout's production of Pygmalion, which will begin previews on Sept. 18th. Interestingly enough, she'll not only be acting alongside her boyfriend Hugh Dancy's costar from this spring's critically acclaimed revival of Journey's End, Jefferson Mays, but she will also will be directed by Journey's End director David Grindley. It's amazing how insestuous the theater world can be!

Here's a cute pic of the pair snuggling up at an event.

The handsome star of one of the best movies I ever saw as a child The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Kerwin Mathews, died in San Fransisco at the age of 81. His partner of 46 years, Tom Nicoll, confirmed this to the press. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, with those glorious special effects by Ray Harryhausen, was a movie I saw countless times, and the battle with the skeleton was one of the film's high points. Also the open shirt revealing Mathews' sexy hairy chest was definitely a turn on for me as a kid. Mathews starred in another wonderful Harryhausen film: The Three World Of Gulliver. He was always one of my favorites.

New York City bars are famously deep, narrow and dark. At the shallow and wide Carroll Gardens bar Abilene, however, almost every seat is a window seat, and an orange glow from the street is filtered through the half-open blinds and reflected onto bar patrons, creating a Edward Hopper-style sense of urban isolation that probably hasn't existed since the 1940s. But on this particular Saturday night, in lieu of saucy dames and mysterious men in felt hats, there were groups of cool-enough-for-school Brooklynites huddled over games of Connect Four at the white wood tables, as well as others drinking cheap beer at the Formica-topped bar (the cheapest, Gennesee Cream Ale, will only set you back $2.50) and lounging in the cushion-heavy chill-out area in the back. Abilene actually takes up almost half of its Court Street block. But not unlike owner Leah Allen's other bar Lolita, which inconspicuously straddles the Lower East Side/Chinatown border on Broome Street, Abilene is coy and unobtrusive, with only a simple Stella Artois sign indicating its presence. We don't know about you, but we think it's sexy when our bars play hard to get. 442 Court St., Brooklyn, (718) 522-6900.

Hey, it's Thursday. Go see David Cross, Todd Barry, Jon Benjamin and their wacky and kinky friends sprinkle their golden comedy at Union Hall. The best home-grown comedy show Tinkle is back and it's for a good cause. You'll be laughing and helping the Katrina victims at the same time.

Giddyup little doggies! Mr. Mickey wants to be a cowboy! MM is just back from a super fun and glamorous rodeo at Rancho La Zaca in the Santa Ynez Valley of California. It was MM's first real live rodeo and it was super fun. The hostess was Sandy Hill and she her husband Tom Dittmer have been throwing 4th of July rodeos for five years now. It was a fun combination of LA types and cowboys. You can see more in the October issue of Vogue --they were there shooting Sandy.

Anyhoo, being a knucklehead, Mr. Mickey had to try out the mechanical bull. Well he nearly died just climbing on the damn thing! The guy running the machine said he'd put it on kid speed but still Mr. Mickey flew off immediately. Here's a photo by Frank Helmer to prove it.

After the jump see the shot immediately after this one and some other great shots by the fabulous Roman Alonso.

And stayed tuned for some movies that Mr. Mickey made with his new Flip Video camera. If he can figure out how to upload them! MM made mini movies with the likes of Vincent Gallo and Bo Derek!!! MM is an auteur!

READ MORE »

Yesterday Steve Jones played Alice Cooper's classic tune "Elected" on the only truly great radio show in L.A., "Jonesey's Jukebox" (on Indie 103.1 FM). Cranked up, this song goes down extremely well in the carpool lane and I instantly recalled Jim Thirlwell, a.k.a. FOETUS, doing a killer live version of it at The Roxy back in the mid-'90s. The song also reminded me a) how much I hate politicians and elections when no one running is anyone you REALLY want to vote for; b) how crazy Alice actually ran against Nixon on the Republican ticket in 1972 and how we could really use his candidacy today; and c) what an amazing rock band he had. I mean, look at these guys! Believe me, during the cusp of the 1970s and those early glam years Alice Cooper -- both the man and the original band -- were the epitome of cool.

READ MORE »

Brazil's Bonde Do Role (pronounced BON-jay) play a crazy mix of favela music, hip hop and dance. And while I know that everyone here has probably already heard of this amazing trio, I only just saw them live for the first time this past Tuesday at the Spiegeltent. One of my very first Papermag blogs was about them, in fact, and how they were the first band to be signed to Diplo's label, Mad Decent. Their live show was fabulous, the only thing that bothered me was the fact that the audience was more concerned with photographing them than with dancing! They'll be playing the Music Hall of Williamburg (the new and improved North Six) on September 15th. Go see them and dance!

Though we understand intellectually that MTV docu-soap The Hills is the television equivalent of Olestra, it's really hard for us not to watch, and not to care. Which is why we were pretty excited to discover this here video clip, a teaser for the third season, which premieres August 13th.

"I've decided that I want to date like a guy," Lauren tells Whitney, setting the stage for the season. "I've just found an adorable boy from London -- who's leaving tomorrow. Jackpot!" she squeals. "You guys kissed a lot," Whitney informs her. "Really?" "Yes!"

As the season unfolds, we see that Lauren's stale bagel of an ex-boyfriend Jason resurfaces, Whitney starts dating her trainer and Heidi and her fake boobs continue to remain under Spencer's evil spell... These are some exciting times, people.

Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson has passed away. We remember her tireless campaign in the 1960s to help Keep America Beautiful which she did by supporting the Highway Beautification Act. This law helped eliminate so many awful billboards that used to litter our nation's highways (yes, even more than now). A devoted conservationist, Mrs. Johnson also established the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes.

READ MORE »

Hip hip hooray for Marc Shaiman, whose Tony-award winning Broadway musical Hairspray comes to the silver screen on July 20th! The L.A. Times ran a much-deserved valentine to this Laurel Canyon resident last Sunday. The article mentioned Club 57 which is where I met Marc back in the swinging '80s when he and his partner Scott Wittman (renowned director of theatre and cabaret as well as co-writing with Shaiman lyrics for all the Hairspray tunes) put on their wacky "guerilla dinner theater" productions. Their version of the Euripides classic "The Trojan Women" was set in Las Vegas and deserves to be Broadway bound as well!

READ MORE »

Xanadu, the musical based on the infamous 1980 movie of the same name starring Olivia Newton-John opened last night at the Helen Hayes Theater to enthusiastic reviews. The movie was a campy nightmare for critics and most movie goers, and put a halt to the movie/musical genre for about two decades. But Xanadu’s saving grace was several chart topping tunes including it’s title song "Xanadu," making it a prime choice for a jukebox musical.

After the screenplay, about an Australian-accented, rollerskating muse who visits an uninspired artist and convinces him to build a roller disco called Xanadu, got a very funny facelift by Little Dog Laughed playwright Douglas Carter Beane, the stage show was ready to roll (quite literally -- all the actors are on skates). Xanadu stars Cheyenne Jackson (Chad in All Shook Up) who bravely filled original star James Carpinello’s skates after he broke his foot during previews, and Kerry Butler in the Olivia Newton-John role, along with Broadway vets Tony Roberts, Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman.

READ MORE »

While dining at the Time Warner Center can be pricey and intimidating, there happens to be an oft overlooked diamond in the rough there, too. Tucked away on the fifth floor is Dizzy's, Jazz at Lincoln Center's coolest venue and a spot where one does not have to sit up straight and know which fork to use. Vast windows overlooking the twinkling lights of Central Park and a curvaceous, oak-toned room set an upscale urban backdrop for multi-culti jazz buffs, including Julliard youngsters and low-key pros (Eric Clapton). Along with the top-tier hepcat acts, the spot serves up casual, surprisingly good Southern-style grub with the help of Great Performances catering (also responsible for the yumminess at the Waverly at IFC). A chorizo and goat-cheese-stuffed poblano pepper ($10) came fried and flanked by a markedly fresh kidney-bean-and-corn salad; a satisfying stack of salami, mortadella, prosciutto and provolone on ciabatta made a fitting facsimile of a muffaletta ($11); and smoky, rice-filled "gumbolaya" ($14/$25) combined for a spicy, tomato-tinged hybrid of shrimp, crab, crawfish, andouille, tasso ham and chicken. Even the sides featured refreshing grace notes, like tender, mustard-touched Brussels sprouts ($5) and sweet-edged collard greens ($5). For a finale, the apple cranberry cobbler ($8) warmed the soul like a smooth sax solo. 10 Columbus Circle, 5th fl., (212) 258-9595. Kathleen Squires

You have to check out the Grindhouse Double Feature DVD out on www.bcieclipse.com: Pickup and The Teacher. TV’s Dennis The Menace Jay North plays 18-year-old Sean in The Teacher, seduced by his sexpot much older teacher (Angel Tompkins) while a deranged ex-vet stalks them both driving around in a hearse and watching them through binoculars from an abandoned warehouse. North seems more interested in paneling his damn van than losing his virginity to the horny teacher next door in this trash classic but soon she plies him with beer and takes him out to dinner making out with him in public. Two disapproving restaurant patrons are played by, of all people, the mothers of Gena Rolands and John Cassavettes.

The Pickup is about two hitchhiking gals who get into a reconverted bus with a cool dude driving it to Florida. They get stranded somewhere in the Everglades and then one girl gets naked with the guy while the other hallucinates creepy clowns with balloons and a priest who once abused her. Yes, both movies are that weird. And they come with trailers for such drive-in gems like: The Hellcats and Weekend with the Babysitter. Get your copy today and lose your mind!

The most expensive real estate is located in what is known in the biz as The Platinum Triangle (Cat burglers, Marxist revolutionaries and talented Mr. Ripleys, take note.) The former mansion of William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies (as well as JFK's old western crash pad) is up for sale for $165,000,000. The most interesting thing about this place is the fact it was the setting for that famous scene in The Godfather in which the movie producer wakes up to find the bloody, severed head of his prized racing horse in bed with him. Strangely enough, there isn't a clip of this classic nugget on YouTube. But you CAN purchase your own horse head pillow here where they promise "A Severed Horse's Head is Worth a Thousand Words".

READ MORE »

Papermag blogger Shanon Kelley (aka N.Y. Doll) sits down with the folksy band O'Death to find out what they're really about.

I've been a fan of Boredoms's since the early 90s and gone to many of their shows over the years. So this past Saturday (07/07/07), my friends and I went out to Dumbo to witness the 77BOADRUM spectacle and we had the time of our lives!!! As N.Y. Doll reported yesterday, the 77BOADRUM blow out was the show to end all outdoor concerts -- a drum circle with 77 drum kits bookended by the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges!!! It was completely mindblowing and magical. Everything came together -- the weather, the location, the people... though there were many who didn't get in after waiting on line for hours. My hat's off to Hisham Baroocha who was the glue of this very sexy event. Watching Eye from Bordoms orchestrating the 77 disciples, I believed I was in the presence of a true mad genius. He generates such great energy, power and sexual vibes that my friend Kazumi kept saying, "I need to go home and take a cold shower!" You really should have been there. It was SPECIAL!

READ MORE »

My pop cultural watchdog Gary Stella alerted me to this article in Variety announcing that "Susan Seidelman's 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan is being retooled as a London-bound stage musical using the back catalog of Deborah Harry and Blondie." And I thought that Eighties Revivalism was just about done with. Hmm, wonder if that sassy cigarette girl with the Louise Brooks bob will be in it?

From Variety.com:

Written and conceived by Peter Michael Marino and helmed by Angus Jackson, the show will begin previews Oct. 12 at the Novello Theater, home to the short-lived London run of "The Drowsy Chaperone," which is closing early, on Aug. 4.

Emma Williams ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") will play Susan, the role created onscreen by Madonna. Kelly Price (Michael Grandage's "Guys and Dolls") will play the Rosanna Arquette role of Roberta, whose humdrum New Jersey life turns upside-down when she loses her memory in the mistaken-identity comedy. The score will include Blondie hits "Heart of Glass," "Atomic," "One Way or Another," "Dreaming" and "The Tide Is High." Harry also has penned a new song, "Moment of Truth," for the show.

I LOVE summertime in New York City -- so much fun stuff to do! I've been a total spaz running around from this to that. My brain is too fried from the heat, so without much ado, here's a visual recap of all the fiestas I've been hitting up.

Picture Above: Opening at Joseph Latimore's gallery Sensei on E. 1st St.

READ MORE »

Name: Eloise Ress Barrow

Age: 19

Position: Intern

Hometown: Manhattan!

School and Major: Emerson College, majoring in Writing, Literature, and Publishing (it’s one major)

Facebook or MySpace: Facebook. Sooo sick of MySpace.

Fave Blog: Papermag. (Swear I’m not advertising for PAPER, I just don’t read any other blogs)

Fave Designer: Betsey Johnson for sure. Love her spunk.

Best thing about interning at PAPER: Photo shoots.

The Worst: Excel spreadsheets.

Fave PAPER Cover: December/January 2006 - Zac Posen cover. Looove that photograph.

READ MORE »

Looking for love in all the wrong places? Look no further than New York's very own Central Park! From August 7th through September 9th Shakespeare in the Park presents the original romantic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's kind of like You've Got Mail meets The Prince and Me. Free tickets are available at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park starting at 1 p.m. the day of the performance. But be sure to get there early so you don't miss out! Lovers' quarrels, prancing fairies and a royal wedding? What better way to spend a summer afternoon?!

READ MORE »

Just saw this amazing clip of Madonna's performance at Live Earth this weekend. During "La Isla Bonita" she was joined by Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hutz (quite possibly the sexiest man alive) and Sergey Ryabtsev. Enjoy!

I think my new favorite solo performer is none other than Baltimore's own Dan Deacon. I saw him play for the very first time this Sunday at McCarren Park Pool. He was one of the first to play and was visibly nervous -- he wasn't sure anyone would stand close enough to listen. But boy was he wrong! As soon as his set was announced, kids swarmed his laptop center down on the floor of the pool. He was surrounded the entire time, making it one hell of a dance party for 4:00 in the afternoon. Just look at the happy faces on those fans!

On Saturday I went to the park under the Brooklyn Bridge to see what was (and will quite possibly remain) the best show I've ever seen in my entire life. Vice and JellyNYC brought the Japanese art rock band, The Boredoms together with 74 other drummers to create 77BOADRUMS.

Drummers came from all over to participate and included members of bands like Gang Gang Dance, Tussle, Excepter and even Andrew WK (who was apparently incognito). After the show I went up to Yamataka Eye (frontman of The Boredoms) to congratulate him and ask him what he wanted to do next. He said: "Next year, more drummers."

READ MORE »

Welcome to Pets on PAPER! For this installment, we have a very special pet -- that's because he is owned by none other than PAPERMAG blogger N.Y. Doll! We're keeping it in the family today!

What's your name? Logan

How old are you? three-and-a-half years old

Where do you live? Park Slope, Brooklyn

What are your pastimes? Eating fuzz off the floor, sleeping on any place other than my own bed, rolling around in horse manure, picking up ladies.

What's your favorite PAPER cover and why? Penelope Cruz -- I love Spanish women, but more importantly, that blonde wig looks like fun to play with.

READ MORE »

The owners of Subtletea, a new tea shop located on a very uninteresting block on the corner of Madison and 30th Street, are smart business types. Todd Cella, the president, decided to bring “tea culture” to the U.S. after he watched people in Shanghai clamoring for coffee in a Starbucks. Flipping the notion on its head, bringing East to West, he dreamed up Subtletea after visiting the Tea Expo in Vegas that same year, where he discovered that tea is a relatively untapped industry in the States. “People don't really think about tea, but when it's presented to them, everyone knows about tea,” he says. Subtletea sells upwards of 45 types of tea, handily divided on the menu into three categories: “Morning Tea” (mainly black teas, including organic English Breakfast, Ceylon and Assam); “Afternoon Tea” (Manhattan Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Oolong, party of the jungle black and green tea, white Himalaya pineapple spice, almond cookies green tea); and “Evening Tea” (mostly herbal, decaf and fruit brews, such as chocolate chai Rooibos, cinnamon apple chamomile and decaf Sencha).

READ MORE »

This Tuesday on http://www.mgm.com/dvd.php is the Frankie & Annette Collection, a fabulous box set of those idiotic and successful beach party movies American International Pictures put out in the 1960s -- all starring the buxom and virginal former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon with his boyish good looks and helmet-hair.

There's lots of frugging and fun and their biker nemesis is the silly Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lemeck). Included in the set is Beach Party, which started the popular series, as well as Beach Blanket Bingo, Bikini Beach, How To Stuff A Wild Bikini, Fireball 500 (which mixed racing cars into the formula), Thunder Alley and Ski Party. Here's James Brown and the Flames in Ski Party singing "I Feel Good!"