Gawker

Week in Review

The Week America Did WHAT?


Image: (c) Jana Kohl and Robert Sebree, www.ararebreedoflove.com, used with permission from (c) holder.

7:06 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
1,583 views, 485 comments

Latest by Aaron Altman: @lawyergay: No WAY you're an FNFF virgin. more »

Hero

UK Reporter Drunk on Hope, Booze

This is Adam Smith, "also known as Steve Zacharanda," in Chicago on Election Night. He is a reporter for the Birmingham Mail, a newspaper in the UK. He's just been approached by a friendly Dutch person with a video camera. He seems to be filing a story, and he's definitely been drinking. Please watch his hilarious reportorial style—"I'm just a little bit pissed.... Thank god for the BBC, because I'm cutting and pasting, baby!"—after the jump. More »

7:06 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
1,269 views, 13 comments

Latest by Lola del Rio: OOOOO.... somebody is gonna lose their job 'cause content this good can't be kept quiet. more »

VideUhOh

The Obama Witch Project

Fuzzy handheld footage of Obama's first meeting with his economic team. "This is literally coming in at the moment... It's gonna be a little rough here, folks." None of the talking heads have any idea what's going on.

6:47 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Sheila
1,499 views, 8 comments

Latest by get the buttah: @BK_KT: I think that's Winona Ryder. more »

We're here to help

These People Will Fix Your Money

These are the men and women Barack Obama assembled today to advise him on how best to fix the cratering economy. They are a largely respected group, and though they ain't perfect—so many CEOs and so much Larry "Women Be Unable to Learn Math" Summers!—they are certainly more reassuring than the ideologues and incompetents our last guy surrounded himself with. We've identified them for your benefit and their brief bios are below. More »

6:42 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
3,424 views, 46 comments

Latest by Pesti-Esti: @rajmahall: She hasn't really done anything. She has a fondness for Clintonian novelty policies, as opposed to actual systemic more »

Proposition 8

Courtney Love Reveals Her Confused, Anti-Gay 'Yes on Prop 8' Vote

FROM DEFAMER.COM: Now that California's Proposition 8 has passed, many celebrities are decrying the anti-gay rights measure — and then there's addled songstress Courtney Love. More »

6:38 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Kyle Buchanan
8,858 views, 36 comments

Layoff horror stories

Get Well Soon, Without a Job

In honor of the Friday layoffs sweeping through the media today, we bring you even more funny-sad stories of being fired. (Esquire, Wenner, O at Home, this one goes out to you.) As always, send your own anecdotes to tips@gawker.com. Read on for sick-bed and weekend layoffs and a guy who's been laid off so many times, he's a "kiss of death" to any company. More »

6:25 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Sheila
2,391 views, 7 comments

Latest by madam.margie: My sister was laid off from an ad agency a few years ago. She and her former co-workers went out more »

kreepie kats

Kreepie Kats Repeel Prop 8 in "When Ironie Dies It Sounds Like an Unlubricated Cherry Vibrator Opening the Ass Tabernacle of an Altar Boy"

[Jim Behrle's Kartoon Kitties are befuddled. What to do in a world where we are slightly less racist than we thought? There are new rules against being a negative asshole, apparently. IS THIS THE END OF KREEPIE KATS? Click through and find out!] More »

6:10 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By behrle
539 views, 6 comments

Latest by Banjo Kitten: Prop 8 sux. And my ovaries melted long ago. more »

Model Behaviors

Vogue's 'Model.Live' Ends, Models Pledge To Go On

FROM JEZEBEL.COM: 'Model.Live', the oddly punctuated series put together by Vogue and IMG to fill the void of industry-related reality television not bearing the fierce imprimatur of Nighttime Tyra, didn't serve up its finale webisode as expected today. More »

6:00 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By TatianaTheAnonymousModel
1,042 views, 1 comment

GAWKER STALKER

Latest Gawker Stalker Sightings

Submit your Sightings: stalker@gawker.com

  • Katie Holmes & Suri

    5th Ave
    Was walking through European sculptures at the Met and who should I see but the cutest toddler Suri Cruise on the planet and her super skinny tall mom Katie Holmes!

  • Liam Neeson

    8th Ave
    Liam Neeson walking north on 8th ave. He was wearing a golf cap, glasses and a very stern look. He seemed to be in a hurry and didn’t apologize for bumping into my colleague, who was in the throes of conversation and had no idea it was him.

  • Chace Crawford

    249 Park Ave S
    Spotted 2AM playing pool at a bar on 9th ave and 23rd, with a group of guys. Though in Chelsea, no discernible gay vibes. Smaller in person, but so pretty.

  • Ed Westwick

    9th Ave & 23rd St
    Very drunk and alone Chuck Bass downtown last night hitting bars all over Rivington Street. Generally really rude and sloppy. He was everything I imagined him to be, only more British.

More »

What they said

Quote of the Day

"Something has to happen for us to make fun of. Unlike the actual news, what we say is based in fact." From Daily Show writer J. R. Havlan, about the inevitability of comedians making fun of Obama. [NYT]

5:58 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Sheila
126 views, 2 comments

Clinton Era SF

The Return Of Clinton Futurism?

FROM IO9.COM: The last time the Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, Gillian Anderson wore pants. There were two Star Trek series at once, which promoted women and minorities and looked at the dark side of the Federation. More »

5:42 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
3,054 views, 27 comments

Layoffs At Wenner Media? A fine Friday news dump: a tipster tells us that a slew of layoffs just went down at Wenner Media, publisher of Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, and Men's Journal. Let go, we hear, were several online people, several marketing people, an assistant, a sales rep, and three unnamed people from Men's Journal. Also, "the entire Detroit and San Francisco office," according to our source. That's harsh, but quite possible. Know any more details on the Wenner layoffs? Email us.

5 comments

Columnists

Bill Kristol, Palin Camp Lackey

One of the best parts of that juicy NYT story yesterday about all the infighting in the McCain- Palin campaign was the fact that a huge chunk of the story was given over to exploring who was leaking to sniveling conservative columnist Bill Kristol—a Times columnist! It's pretty unusual for a paper to start digging on its own columnist's confidential sources, but hey, it's Bill Kristol and nobody at the Times likes him, so they just went for it. That prompted some further review by the Daily Beast, which concluded, yep, Bill Kristol is basically just a lackey for political operatives: More »

5:20 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
3,057 views, 69 comments

Latest by Trixie from Toronto: @bjonston: Don't be greedy. Share. more »

The White House Butler Read this. All the way to the end. [WP]

91 comments

eBay

How Much Did You Pay For Your Times 'Obama' Issue?

Rember how Obama's election was the greatest thing to happen to the newspaper industry in a decade? People lined up across New York City to buy copies of the New York Times proclaiming his victory! And the smart ones put those copies right on Ebay. This chart shows the average of the five highest prices paid on Ebay each day for that November 5 issue of the NYT. One early seller fetched $400; today you can have your pick for less than $30. Oh, the metaphor.

4:42 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
741 views, 39 comments

Latest by Gatcha_Journalism: hey, I have some M&M's from the Clinton administration. Any takers? more »

Oprah Winfrey

Work On Earth Finished, Oprah To Return to Home Planet

Days after winning the presidency for a skinny black man from Kansas and Kenya and Indonesia (and also rescuing funny-but-unwatched sitcom 30 Rock), it's been revealed Queen of Media Oprah Winfrey will end her syndicated talk show in 2011, according to Broadcasting & Cable. But according to sources with Oprah's production company, Harpo, the show will merely shift from syndication to her new cable network, forcing cable providers to add "OWN," which is currently called the Discovery Health Channel, or "the channel with the world's fattest man and the dying babies." What's going on? No one knows. More »

4:38 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
2,022 views, 40 comments

Latest by brionity: Pope-rah? Quitting? Yea. Right. This woman needs more attention than Vadge: Giant Praying Mantis Version 2. The more »

Newspapers

Wednesday's Times Arts Section Might as Well Not Exist

Did you know there were stories in Wednesday's New York Times that weren't about the election? Mike Birbiglia, a fairly successful actor-comedian who got a great break—a profile in the Times for his new off-Broadway show. That profile ended up running on November 5th, the one day people actually wanted to buy newspapers. Remember that? People were lining up around the block to snag a copy of that day's Times. As he explains on 23/6, he couldn't even find a freaking copy to send to his mom! More »

4:10 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Sheila
1,270 views, 12 comments

Latest by SisterMaryMartha is GOLDEN.: @it takes a lot to laugh: about which? more »

Lynn Sweet

Obama Makes Chicago Reporter Instantly Famous

Lynn Sweet is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times who led the outraged howling over the Obama campaign charging the press extortionate prices to cover his election-night rally in Chicago. Yet even she has been brought in line by the Obama charm! During the just-completed press conference Sweet stood up with a broken arm and allowed that she had broken it covering his rally, and Obama gave a sweet answer and flashed the biggest smile ever and in one fell swoop made Lynn Sweet America's most famous reporter for a day and also a lady who probably would like to smooch Barack Obama right on the mouth. Click to watch the exchange. [UPDATE: Bonus Observer story on Sweet too!] More »

3:36 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
9,329 views, 57 comments

Latest by superwoman: @NoWireHangers: it's magical, that smile!!! more »

Barack Obama

Our First Mutt President Distracts Us from Recession with Puppy-Talk

President-elect Barack Obama's first press conference happened the day the nation shed yet more jobs, it began a half-hour late, and the subject was mostly the miserable economy. Obama looked tired, and lapsed occasionally back into campaign boilerplate when discussing the pressing issues he'll have to address the second he's sworn in. As he reminded us, again and again, "there's only one President at a time." But with one question from Chicago reporter Lynn Sweet, Obama immediately won over the audience, and America. He's getting his little girls a puppy! "With respect to the dog," President-elect Obama said, "this is a major issue." Slipping into deadpan mock seriousness, Obama discussed the crux of the problem—the dog should be a hypoallergenic breed, but they wanted to rescue a shelter dog. "Obviously," Obama said, "a lot of shelter dogs are mutts, like me." Even Fox is being nice to our new President now. More »

3:28 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
14,872 views, 157 comments

Latest by Xylo: @Calraigh: Scary!!! Yet, also sad, makes me think of The Fly. more »

The panic of '08

Ivy League Losing All Of Its Precious Money!

Hey Ivy League students, did you think that the walls of the Ivory Tower would shelter you from this global financial crisis? Figured you'd be able to continue pulling in your financial aid and frolicking in your school's brand new buildings full of fancy professors who teach one class per year and spend the rest of the time writing little-read books? Think again! Because it looks like even the mighty Harvard is losing billions in the current market downturn. More billions than you might expect: More »

3:11 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
4,291 views, 41 comments

Latest by Awestruck: @iplaudius: The most interesting element of this story is the coming end of the "echo boom," which made school admissions more »

At Her Madgesty's Pleasure

Can The Madonna/Gwyneth Friendship Survive?

FROM JEZEBEL.COM: Yesterday the British tabs claimed that Madonna is "begging" best friend Gwyneth Paltrow to jettison Chris Martin and the Anglophile stick up her bum for the welcoming shores of Manhattan. More »

3:00 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Jessica
11,553 views, 88 comments

Liveblog

Liveblogging the First President Obama Press Conference

OBAMA FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE RUNNING TEN TO FIFTEEN MINUTES LATE! That's not change we can believe in! "Before the election, he was always on time," CNN reports. Now they're playing Rush Limbaugh complaining about Rahm Emanuel on one side of the screen and an empty podium on the other. We'll update with details and eventually video! More »

2:39 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
8,066 views, 142 comments

Latest by VoxPopuli: @SarahHeartburn: Yep. From the epic Newsweek story: There was no doubting their physical attraction. Reporters liked to snicker at how much more »

Books

Turns Out, No Amount of Controversy Can Sell a Book

Remember how the novel Jewel of Medina, Sherry Jones's book about the child bride of Muhammad, was going to set off a wave of Muslim outrage and violence? In the exhaustively-chronicled journey to publication for Jewel of Medina? Random House pussed out on publishing it due to some wingnut remarks by academic Denise Spellerg when they asked her for a blurb, so then other people decided rush in and publish it, including a British publisher who was rewarded with a firebomb in his mail slot. So then he decided not to publish it, and Jones quickly became a poster child for hysterical pre-emptory censorship. Well, now the book is out and Jones is doing her book tour. The "widespread violence" Spellberg warned Random House of isn't happening, and as the Seattle Times reported, Jones' visit in their town was sparsely attended and sold exactly three copies of the book. Just like every other bookstore reading! More »

2:35 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Sheila
767 views, 8 comments

Latest by MattGaymon: @BeRightBack: That would be the case if you were to call me right now, from a library. Aloooone. more »

Spin

Sarah Palin On Charges She Is An Idiot: No Comment

The news media has tracked failed VP candidate Sarah Palin to the wilds of Alaska to get her reaction to the LOL-legation that she thought Africa was a country rather than a continent. Her forceful rebuke of the charge can be summed up as: It, uh, sounds like some bitters are saying I maybe, uh, didn't know the answer to a question so, uh, who was it that said that, anyhow? Click to watch the mush-mouthed meanderings of a geographically challenged woman. More »

2:28 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
13,004 views, 116 comments

Latest by Streeter: I wanna know where that jacket was bought...may I see the receipt please? more »

horse race

Your Guide To the Endless Newsweek Story on the Endless Campaign

Today, Newsweek posted the final chapter of their Special Election Project, the annual How He Did It book they've published for each presidential campaign since 1984 (when the answer was much easier: he just ran against Walter Mondale). The reporters assigned to the special project are embargoed from those publishing in the regular magazine, so they get jucier anecdotes, more hilarious quotes, and revealing stories, all of which are then packaged and in such a way as to make the winning campaign look like a well-oiled machine and the losing campaign look like a parade of idiots. Did you read the whole thing? We did! We'll share with you the funniest bits, the important takeaway, and the already solidifying conventional wisdom. More »

2:08 PM on Fri Nov 7 2008
By Pareene
10,128 views, 60 comments

Latest by IamnotStarJones: @DorothyMantooth: that anecdote makes me wonder what exactly did McCain think Palin was doing on the stump with her 'base'. more »

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