The Kelly Gang started as Keith's little annual get-together for NYC's most important Kellys—Keith Kelly, naturally, and police chief Ray Kelly, and Jim Kelly, who's both a former Buffalo Bills quarterback and the former head of Time magazine, and...the whole plethora of other important Kellys. Nowadays it's a charity event. Last year it raised $85,000 for good causes!

But the Kelly Gang party is an expensive evening at Michael's, and we hear that some people feel bullied into it by Keith—like, they're afraid that if they don't shell out the cash and show up, they'll get on his bad side, and sooner or later they'll be trashed in his column.

Well—without insinuating these fears are well-founded—isn't that how all charity dinners work? What's the problem here? Lord knows most of the people famous enough to get personal invites to these things deserve to be trashed in columns occasionally. Better to have your New York Post protection money go to a good cause than to Jared Paul Stern.
[Pic: Mediabistro]

Please note: These could all be scams. Or more likely, a mix of scams, waiters trying to sneak you in the back, and broke reporters trying to make a buck off their extra press passes. Okay!


Most Expensive

"Project Runway Fashion Week @ Mercedes Benz IMG": $750

A slew of options including Marc Jacobs, William Rast, Zac Posen, and others: $600

Caroline Herrera: $599

Project Runway: $500

William Rast: $399

Cheapest

Tadashi Shoji: $80

Bineth: $69

LEIFSDOTTIR Presentation: $69

Loris Diran: $59

"I am a hot female with blonde hair and big boobs looking to go to fashion week": $1

Perhaps not coincidentally, there's expected to be less star power than usual at Fashion Week this year. [Pic via]

GE owns vast rights of way for the electrical grid, which could potentially aid Google's efforts to build their own Internet backbone infrastructure — even over the transmission lines themselves. And of course, less demand for electricity combined with stable supply means cheaper juice for Google's giant datacenters. The real question is, what's in this for Immelt and GE? (Photos by AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack, Mark Lennihan)

I saw two options. Either start snapping the shutter and pressing the flesh and risk the old "Who the fuck are you?" treatment, or attempt to be above-board and identify myself as a freelance photographer and writer, which I am. In the sweltering jungles of Cambodia, where I received my baptism by fire as a journalist and aspiring heroin addict, I learned that, as a reporter, you play it straight with your subjects, and that's exactly what I did with Ronn (sic) Torossian.

BAD FUCKING IDEA!

I walked up to him and said, "Hey there, I'm a freelance writer and photographer, you mind if I start taking some shots?"

He asked me who I write for, and I told him I've written for the New York Times, the New York Post, and Time Out, all of which is true. But then he asked me if I was there on an assignment, and I hesitantly replied in the affirmative.

"Who assigned you," Mr. Grammar (sic) Torossian pressed.

It was like the world went dark, and I heard the cries of a thousand anguished souls burning and writhing in the Spirit World.

"Gawker."

I honestly thought he might serve me an ass-kicking right on the spot, but at first all he did was tell me not to take any pictures. He then disappeared from the conference room, though, and I had a feeling he was about to affect my ejection, which he did.

"Nothing personal, but do you read Gawker's posts on me?"

I did not say, "Yes, and they're just delicious!"

I did not say, "Yes, it's really refreshing to see an asshole actually being held accountable for his ineptitude, meanness of spirit, and thuggish behavior."

I tried to reason with him, to explain I was just there to ask questions, not do a back-alley hatchet job. That I wrote for the Times in 1958 once, and that I have my reputation as a failed journalist to protect.

"You could tell CNN that I am God, but I'm not going to let you cover this event. You'll get a good story out of this about how you were bounced." (I hadn't considered that angle until he suggested it.)

"There's no discussion about this," a security guy in a bad blazer chimed in.

So, I left, disoriented. I looked at my hand and saw I still had a water bottle from 5W's kitchen.

I walked down 6th Avenue feeling like I had let the readers of Gawker down, that they now had to pay the price for my naïve, mid-western inclination – an inclination burnished in the sweltering jungles of Cambodia – to speak Truth to Publicists, and in particular to a publicist named Ronn (sic) Torossian.

Journalism!

Memorial Day Weekend:

• Lily Pond (East Hampton), featuring R&B singer Estelle this weekend.
• Pink Elephant (Southampton), featuring Jaslene Gonzalez of ANTM. The owners of Pink Elephant also opened a large new Southampton club called La Playa, ready for this summer.
• The Surf Lodge (Montauk), featuring reggae star Julian Marley this weekend.
• Blue & Cream (East Hampton) hosts a party for model Maggie Rizer.
• TenJune, which opens its private house, "The Estate." Molly Simm birthday party, May 24.
• DUNE (Southampton): various DJs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is expected to attend. Table cost: $2,000.

Other Events: Jason Binn is hosting a party for Kim Cattrall at his house in Southampton Saturday night, and Kelly Ripa is hosting a store opening in East Hampton the same evening, a tipster says.

When she invited everyone to "come get drunk on my drink!," Froelich tells us, she assumed that the event would have a cash bar. But she found out that it actually had an open bar—which would have amounted to her selling her name in exchange for free booze for her friends. So the Post told her she couldn't go. The liquor-guzzling paper somehow managed to make the right call, and a scandal was averted. Luckily none of this prevented the Voice's Michael Musto from getting his drink on.

An IZZE FROLIC:

Vodka
Sparkling Grapefruit Juice
Lychee and Lemon Juices

Mix. Don't forget to pay.

[UPDATE: Portfolio media reporter Jeff Bercovici notes that he emailed the Post's PR firm on Monday asking about the ethics of the planned party—the same day Musto reports that the paper told Froelich she couldn't attend. Reporters working together to keep each other in line, huzzah!]

Okay,

This is a little embarrassing. Please bear with me if you:

a) are a former lover
b) haven't heard from me in years
or c) hate my guts

My conference director asked me to "invite friends" to get a special
discount on the Mediabistro Circus we're doing May 20-21 — and I realized
that my list is over 2,000 people long, so I just invited everyone in my
Outlook Contact sheet. And you were in there!!

In any case, the conference is going to be AWEsome. It's our first
conference and I'm excited about it because it's shaping up to be exactly
what I wanted it to be: two days of inspired programming designed to bring
very senior-level media people up to speed on what's happening in digital
media.

[Pitch here for "Circus" REDACTED]

So far, we're expecting about 300 very senior-level people (CEOs, SVPs,
EICs, Creative Directors, etc) and I'd really love to have you there, too.
That is, if you are still my friend after this :) Let me know if you're
interested and I'll get you some sort of friends 'n' family discount.

Questions? Email me back. Complaints.... er, email me back those, too.

Love,

Laurel

[Confidential to Laurel: May be wise to remove Nick Denton from Outlook contact sheet.]

To promote the book, Mr. Frey will eschew typical bookstore readings for events at rock venues. He will appear at the Blender Theater in New York, Whisky A Go Go in L.A., and Slim's in San Francisco. At each venue, he will have music and a light show, with images from "Wives, Wheels, Weapons" projected on a screen while he reads. At the San Francisco and L.A. readings, local heavy metal bands will perform.

Members of the Hell's Angels will handle security at the events, in what Mr. McWhinnie described as an allusion to the infamous 1969 concert at the Altamont Speedway, in which fighting between members of the crowd and the Angels led to one fan's being stabbed to death. Presumably Mr. Frey will not attempt to carry the historical echo that far, but who knows? Perhaps he can stage an altercation and use it as grist for his next book.

[NY Sun]

Earlier this year, author Nancy Redd was asked to give her 2007 body-positive book 'Body Drama' to 250 teenage Hurricane Katrina survivors at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 'Vagina Monologues'. "I've harbored a major crush on Eve Ensler for over nine years," Nancy says. "Growing up with normal teenage angst and inadequate health education, I hated my vulva and I never referred to "down there" as anything other than a "hoo-ha". The Monologues were my introduction to feminism; nothing was more empowering to 18-year-old me than having a legit reason to scream "MY SHORT SKIRT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" and "IT'S SUPPOSED TO SMELL LIKE PUSSY!" to the world." Below, Nancy fills us in on everything that went down in the (very fertile) Crescent City over the weekend, where 18,000 participants raised awareness of violence towards women by giving love to vaginas and the amazing women who own them.

"We call her sultry and sexy when we crave her, but after when we want to demean her and dismiss her, we call her swampy and soiled."

"We brag about her music, the way she moves, we beg to get inside her, but disown her later when she has needs."

This year, Eve decided to concentrate the power of her tenth anniversary on the community who needs it the most: the women of New Orleans, who, as Ensler explains, have "survived the fallout of global warming, failure of public structures, racism, economic hardship, and domestic abuse." (She calls them "Katrina Warriors".)

As soon as we walked into the Superdome, we were overwhelmed by the Biggest. Vagina. Ever. Very hypnotizing, and reminiscent of Gene Simmons' tongue!

Right after I arrived at the arena on Friday, author Gabrielle Roth had everyone come to the front of the stage for a fifteen minute "ecstatic dance" designed to release grievances and to allow positive energy to flow. The crowd was LOVING it, and I wanted Gabrielle to crowd surf so badly, because we would have caught her and it would have been awesome.

Afterwards, I checked out the art that decorated the Superdome, created by activists from around the world. Pieces included the biggest bra ball ever...

...an activist comic titled "Fuck, I'm a Victim," and V-Day memorabilia from the past ten years. One really cool installment was the Intentions Hut, where people could go inside and write their dreams and goals and place them in a box aptly titled 'Intentions.' This is where I found out that nearly everyone working the event — from Rosario Dawson's assistant for the day to the translator for Congolese doctor Dr. Denis Mukwege — was a volunteer, and many were college students or retirees. (The volunteer manning the Intentions Hut told me that her husband took Eve Ensler to his prom!)

A large part of the decision to hold the anniversary event at the Superdome was to transform horrible memories for Katrina survivors into positive ones. To do this, V-Day created three healing stations for local women (with some services and samples open to everyone) on the upper levels. To get to the stations, which was also where the food was, everyone had to pass through a giant glowing vulva. Perhaps for rebirth?

Once upstairs, there were massage sessions, yoga classes taught by Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman, and free haircuts and makeup application for Katrina survivors, who were truly enjoying all of the pampering.

There was also a jam-packed activism room full of creative and inspiring groups and organizations, like the women from SAFER, who displayed edgy t-shirts...

...and Rha Goddess, who offered her new book We Got Issues.

There were so many younger kids swarming around and it was heartwarming seeing them studying the artwork and questioning the activists about what they do.

One of the best stage presentations included a girl who looked to be about ten and who proudly exclaimed that in her life from now on, she was "going to ignore stupidity and claim self control." She is now my new role model.

There were quite a few guys (a.k.a. "V-Men") around, too, both as participants and spectators. Authors and activists Jimmie Briggs, who brought his proud mom and aunt (aw!), and John Prendergast chatted with Tara from CosmoGIRL! and myself in between adoring fans (of which there were many).

On Saturday morning, Asia Rainey, local activist and the force behind the Daughters of Hope Rites of Passage, gave us our cues and got us all charged up, and Eve Ensler came in to say hi to the giddy teens, who were nervous and thrilled about being onstage in front of so many people, where they recited skills they'd learned in mentoring classes.

A lot of the girls were super-amped about the fact that they were going to meet Kerry Washington afterwards, worrying that their cell phones wouldn't get good enough pictures. As I was lining up to go onstage to give my presentation — during which I gave a motivational speech and presented my book — I bumped into Dr. Mukwege, an amazing Congolese doctor who is at the forefront of next year's V-Day focus on stopping violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Even though I let loose with an embarrassing scream of glee and a big hug he was incredibly gracious, just chilling in the waiting room wearing a sparkly red feather boa around his neck. I was hoping he would keep it on for the whole evening but alas, he took it off before his Q&A with Eve.

Next up was a Hollywood panel with Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Amber Tamblyn, and Ali Larter; it was a huge hit, and the ladies really opened up about a lot of the sexism and weight concerns that they deal with in the industry.

Women are actually lambasted for crazy things like their ARM size, y'all! When asked about racial stereotypes of females in the media, Kerry expressed her frustration about the few roles for black women that aren't maids or prostitutes, and said that when she had to play one of those roles she tried hard to make the character a real person and not just the stereotype. There were girls who started CRYING in the audience when the celebs came out, and a few teens were brave enough to sneak backstage to get hugs and pictures, and everyone was really cool and gracious about it.

For that evening's star-studded performance of the Vagina Monologues, the Superdome was packed and full of energy.

Eve's adopted son Dylan McDermott was sitting right in front of me next to one of his daughters.

For me, the Vagina Monologues are like My Big Fat Greek Wedding and other movie classics...even though I've seen 'em a million times and I have most of the lines memorized I still love watching from beginning to end. Seeing Eve perform live injected new life into the decade-old words, and I loved her vulva pantsuit.

The celebrities added an interesting flavor and there were some new monologues that had been introduced since the last time I did the show. After watching the touching monologue "They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy" in homage of the transgender experience, I had to Google one of the performers, Calpernia Addams, and I have found my new favorite time-killing video channel.

Towards the end of the performances, Jennifer Beals stole the entire show with her rendition of the crowd favorite "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy", aka "The Moaner".

Her and her backup moaners' renditions of the Irish Catholic orgasm moan "Oh, Oh, Oh PLEASE forgive me!" and the African-American moan "Oh SHIT! Oooooh SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT!" were absolutely hilarious.

At the afterparty at the W, I finally got a good look at Rosario Dawson's shoes and they were as I suspected - the infamous backward heels!

What's really funny is that earlier that evening, while we were both backstage, she seriously questioned whether or not my gold wedge heels were comfy. Anyway, she said her shoes felt fine but I wished I had asked her where she got them because my Google-fu is failing me and I NEED THOSE SHOES!

There was tons of food at the party, including made-to-order FREAKING chicken and waffles, y'all! (Eve and her people know how to throw a party.) Everyone was into the music and the atmosphere and the people and it was just a room full of hot, happy vaginas and their guy friends...a perfect end to an amazing weekend. Hope to see everyone in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009!

The V Day Event Of The Decade: V To The Tenth [V10.VDay.org]

Earlier:
"Here At The Hospital, We Have Seen Women Who Have Stopped Living"
New York Interviewer Accuses Vagina Book Author Of An "Anti-Waxing Slant"
Badass, Self-Described Feminist Jane Fonda Drops the C-Word On Today

Related: Body Drama [Amazon]

"I am totally getting those jeans, just you watch," says this guy.

[Supertouch via Hypebeast]

How NOT To Throw An Event - Funny bloopers R us

LucasArts president Jim Ward surprised the developer on Monday with news that he was leaving the company he's been with for nearly ten years.

In a prepared statement sent to Kotaku shortly after we broke the news of his departure, Ward sang the praises of a game development company he says he's helped reboot.

"I am so proud of all people and the work we've done together at LucasArts over the last four years," he wrote. "It's been an incredible experience. Together we've rebooted the company and set LucasArts on a path to even greater success. This is a fantastic team and they are positioned for their best year ever."

Margaret Grohne, PR director for the game development arm of Lucas Films, said LucasArts found out about Ward's decision Monday evening.

"He told the company he was leaving for personal reasons and he didn't elaborate on that," she said. "He is leaving in a couple of weeks.

"We are starting a search for a new president and in the transition Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, will be stepping in. He has been with the company for over 25 years and very intimately connected with the games business. "

Ward's departure, Grohne said, will not impact release dates or development schedules for any of LucasArts' games.

"We have a really strong line up for 08," she said. Ward "has a very strong team in place and he has set up a very strong company. He is leaving us in a very good place."

"We are sorry to see him go. He's been with the Lucas film organization for over 10 years and he has definitely contributed quite a bit to our organization."

Ward was scheduled to speak at next week's D.I.C.E. conference in a talk entitled "Breaking the Broken Model!", but LucasArts confirmed he will no longer be attending the event.