Gawker: fameballs

Seriously, Why Even Bothering Profiling Julia Allison?

Sheila — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:24:45 EST

It's funny and meta to watch Julia Allison get profiled. Since she's already done all the work for us in real time—chronicling her thoughts and moods and outfits on her blog—a profile seems beside the point and out of date by the time it goes to print—we've already seen those outfits and photos, and we already know what events she's been to. Journalists are usually left baffled upon their first introduction to the JA force of nature—when we've been collectively getting her IMs for years! Australia is just now catching on to this Internet fameball/oversharing thing, putting Allison on the cover of a magazine—and including her close personal friend, and also our former editor, Emily Gould. (At this point, Em seems like she wants to erase the Internet and spend a month in a sensory-deprivation chamber.) The profile is very similar to Allison's Wired cover story, except for perhaps the journalist's outright dislike for her subjects.

She calls Allison's two sidekicks Mary and Megan "equally terrifying alpha girlfriends." (Touche!) Also: "I meet Gould in the painfully sceney Balthazar cafe in New York’s Soho (her choice)." Dang.

However, we finally learn how Julia thinks her baffling Nonsociety startup will earn money!

"Her plan, however, is to earn a living from product endorsement on her nonsociety site. As she goes to great lengths to emphasise, this has never been done before, so its chance of success is uncertain (my conclusion, not hers)."

We knew it... although who knows if that will work. Blueprint Cleanse, anyone? Betsey Johnson? Cupcakes? May we interest you in a designer handbag?

Wildfire Arsonist Wants to Be an Internet Fameball

Sheila — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:37:46 EST

Everybody wants a piece of Internet fame these days, even prisoners who don't have access to the Internet. Wade Kirkwood is a serial arsonist—it's basically an addiction for him and all the wildfire coverage on cable news is his porn. CNN interviewed him recently to get insight on whoever it is setting fires in California, and now he's written them from prison asking if they could maybe "put his name out on the Internet" because he's "very interested in helping people that suffer from the same problems I deal with". Oh, no, he wants to be a fameball! Trust us, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. That said: here ya go, Wade Kirkwood: you're on the Internet. Congratulations! Click through for an excerpt of his prison letter to CNN.

[CNN's AC360]

In 18th Century, Fameballs Had to Wait 'til Death for Microcelebrity

Sheila — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:32:58 EST

How did fameballs get famous in 18th-century Britain? They died! Now that we have the Internet, you don't have to wait for your own death to get written up in the papers—you can publish all your career-killing overshares yourself. But back then, "research by the University of Warwick shows [that] death gave birth to the modern cult of celebrity, as the sudden rise in the popularity of obituaries of unusual people in the 1700s provided people with the... equivalent of a celebrity gossip magazine," says Eureka Alert. It was often the eccentrics "from all walks of life" that people loved to read about, such as a man who would "hire himself out to impersonate a doctor and tell fortunes in a fur cap, a large white beard and a worn damask night gown." Hm, what sort of eccentrics would we write about today in those obits? Perhaps a girl from the Midwest who came to the big city, and whose quest for any sort of fame involved buying 180 candy bars, removing the wrappers, and stitching them together to make an eye-catching outfit:

[via Nonsociety]

Joe The Plumber Will Starve Without McCain Victory!

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:13:24 EST

Last week we had a very clear piece of advice for human campaign prop Joe "Wurzelbacher" The Plumber: get to plumbing! All this hype he's getting as a McCain hack isn't worth shit except free advertising for his core business of Roto-Rooting. But Joe has failed to heed our warning, surprisingly. He's broke, and he's not afraid to complain about it on national television shows such as the respected Inside Edition! Thank god those mysterious checks that appear in his mailbox regularly are at least temporarily offsetting the freeloading Obama supporters trying to take food off his family:

"I'm not getting paid for things. It's starting to get hard to eat," the now-famous Joe the Plumber tells INSIDE EDITION's Deborah Norville.

What is this, Russia?

On the eve of election day, Joe, a single dad, told INSIDE EDITION he's getting by with help from friends and family, along with donations from well-wishers.

"It's hard being on the receiving end, a little bit of pride gets in there sometimes," admits Joe.

"So you just go to the mailbox and there's an envelope with a check in it, written to your name?" marvels Norville.

"Yes ma'am," Joe says.

With the help of these unidentified checks from shadowy sources, Joe has been able to do some pro bono plumbing for his friend—an Obama supporter. Of course, if McCain won, Joe would probably be set for life. But he won't, so Joe better get back to plumbin'. He has the potential to dominate the Holland, Ohio drain cleaning market, if he acts now.
[Inside Edition]

Because Why Not?

ian spiegelman — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:55:51 EDT

Here is Julia Alison eating brownies at her mom and dad's house in Chicago this afternoon. "God, they were good," she says. "Fudgey and moist and dense."

[NonSociety]

Online Intimacy-Faker Meets His Ultimate Match

Sheila — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:29:29 EDT

Imagine you're a marketing intern at an online dating company that lets you video-chat with others. Part of your job is to give the lonely ladies out there a little webcam-time and pretend you like them. That's what tipster Corey does: "To be fair, it’s not so much an internship as it is emotional prostitution... It's weird and mildly unethical, but it pays well. I mean, if I have to let some 45 year old cat lady from Wyoming think we’re having an emotional affair so I can occasionally eat at Le Bateau Ivre, then so be it." We understand. But it must have been shocking for him to have the omniscient fameball trio of dating columnist Julia Allison & her Nonsociety friends pop up on his screen while he was emotionally prostituting himself. He must have felt like he truly met his match!

This morning I was wooing my usual cavalcade of shut-ins when media maven Julia Allison showed up on my screen. I took this screen shot of our session, she was accompanied by Mary Rambin and some hot chick named Meghan Asha.

Apparently they were on my site to promote their site, Nonsociety. They were kinda bitchy... but none of that really matters because they liked my scarf and said I was cute.

Considering the site, its pretty pathetic that they thought this would bring Nonsociety any press or traffic... It isn't the "Oh Fuck" School of PR, it's the "whore yourself out through every conceivable avenue" school of PR.

In this economy, we are all whores—see you at Le Bateau Ivre.

[via Katie and Corey]

What Are This Con Artist Gatecrasher's Fake Movie Projects?

Sheila — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:27:27 EDT

So what are you working on? If you're tax-cheating media-gatecrasher Priyantha Silva—known more for your sweaty drinking exploits than your fictional producing career—it's where things might go wrong. That's probably why he's chatting up aspiring actresses and sending them these upcoming "film projects." "Legend of Black Tom isn't a real [politically correct] title, but I believe some studio would throw it out," snarks the gal who sent them to us. We've also been deluged with memories from others: "He's had it in for me ever since this," said Star's Ben Widdicombe. "I saw him trying to get into the Calvin Klein 40th anniversary party during Fashion Week, and more recently at a Vanity Fair party for St John. He was trying to chat up Lauren Bush before the alert event organizer separated them. He has been in and out of prison and is more dangerous than just a harmless party crasher." Oh, great!

From yet another lady:

"I met him at this "power woman" party last week, or rather I was cornered by him... He walked up to me at this cocktail thing, grabbed my hand and kissed it before I could yank it away (and believe me I did, I'm not sure I could have been more rude, actually ) and then as I kept backing away he kept stepping towards me, like the Seinfeld close-talker... I think his story this time was that he was an Oscar producer or some such.

Silva's fictional "projects" include action film Judex (with Michael Douglas), Hunt of the Sea Wolves (a modern-day pirate film with Bruce Willis), and Raritan Valley Line, a domestic drama starring Sissy Spacek and Mary Louise Parker. Here's the treatment for the unfortunately-named historical drama Legend of Black Tom. It sounds kind of good, actually?

How to Date a Web Celebrity

Sheila — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:31:05 EDT

When your quotidian indiscretions can be photographed, Twittered, and uploaded before you've stumbled out of a cab and up the steps at the end of the night, extra precautions must be taken. Especially you're dating extreme lifestreaming oversharer Julia Allison. Yes, one brave gent has stepped up to the plate. Crazy we didn't hear about it sooner, because she usually shares all her important life decisions with us via her blog—and most men are therefore afraid to date her. "She realized this recently after three promising first dates abruptly called it quits," as her recent NYT profile put it. "In an e-mail message, Ms. Allison acknowledged that her chosen profession may have permanently ruined her social life." But not entirely. Eater's darkly handsome blogger-about-town Ben Leventhal has taken her on.

Ohai, Ben! You have been fearing this day for a while, haven't you?

How does an auto-overexposed fameball gal go from being relationship kryptonite to having an actual relationship that has literally gone three complete months without being blogged? We're sure Leventhal came up with a long list of rules about them dating. Like, no being seen in public together, no being photographed in public together, no mentioning him on her all-inclusive Nonsociety blog, etc. That is so romantic.

Sadly, all this hush-hush secrecy and behaving like real celebs will only further inflate the self-importance of everybody involved. And thus, life will mimic art.

[Photo: Nick McGlynn for Random Night Out]

'Playboys of Tech' Story Proves Some People Do Need Publicists

Sheila — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:09:05 EDT

Maybe the fact that the 2.0 world allows everyone to "be their own publicist" and "control their own image" isn't such a good idea, after all. We love, love, love the obligatory blog-posting post-profile/article teeth-gnashing that such luminaries such as heiressblogger Emily Brill, Wired cover girl Julia Allison, and writer Emily Gould put themselves through. People used to crafting every facet of their public face themselves don't tend to like what they look like when someone other than themselves is taking the picture. Details profiled techboys and fameballs Charles Forman and Tumblr founder David Karp as part of a story on the "Playboys of Tech." It's not Forman gnashing his teeth about the resulting article (he ain't dumb)—it's his attention-requiring ex-girlfriend doing it for him.

"If a blog post is like an essay and a tweet is like a haiku, then a tumblelog is like stream-of-consciousness poetry," the article begins. That's right—and boy, is it a scary idea for literacy. (But it's also such a great embarrassing content-creator for our purposes. So, don't shit where ya eat.)

"Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, [Iminlikewithyou's] Forman produces a steady stream of non sequiturs. "I like people in cute T-shirts who look really angry," he says. Just as he's launching into a description of founder fetishism—that is, when a woman goes only for men who have started high-tech companies, his phone rings. His girlfriend, Julia Allison, is on the line. "She has it," he mouths. Then he says into the phone, "Of course I miss you. I always miss you."

...Exhausted and slower than the night before, Forman is at the crux of the Web 2.0 star's dilemma. Sustaining fame by making sure accounts of your exploits with industry players and Internet starlets circulate in the right places is a full-time job. But so is getting a company off the ground. Karp and Forman consider the two pursuits inextricable. As fameballers, they stay busy fine-tuning and maintaining their personae. But a persona is not a person. A persona doesn't get work done. And a persona can't engage in a meaningful relationship. About a week later, Forman announces that he and Allison have split. He also says the tinnitus is gone. "I mean, it could just be a coincidence," he says.

Hee. Oh, wait, here comes Forman's ex, dating columnist Julia Allison! (Note: this convo is not with me.)

It's so cute how people think they can, like, control the outcome of a profile. That's like assuming that other people aren't going to be smart enough to cut through your carefully crafted bullshit.

Playboys of Tech [Details]

Mini-Fameball Charles Forman is Looking for a Girlfriend!

Sheila — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:33:04 EDT

Let's just admit that we've all placed a personal ad on Craigslist at one time or the other. Only the last thing you want to do in that situation is post your photo in the ad, because what if someone you know saw it and recognized you? OMG that would be so embarrassing... hey, Charles Forman! The Iminlikewithyou web boy (and Julia Allison ex, although we'd bet good money that their relationship was never "consummated") is looking for love... on Craigslist! We'll help him out by posting his ad for a wider audience.

He describes himself as a "creative entrepreneur" who lives in "Midtown." He "run[s] an internet company-which is a lot of fun. When I find time on the side, I'm a media artist... I work out a lot so I'm in good physical shape." Hey-o!

So, ladies, we'll vouch for Charles. He's funny and can probably afford to buy you dinner. We met him once and he smelled nice. He's been in an Esquire fashion shoot. (Oh, and despite many photos that would hint otherwise, he is not Tumblr founder David Karp's gay lover.) Act now! (Caveat: as a commenter just pointed out—if you break up with him, he might humiliate you in public.)

Julia Allison Bigger Than Rupert Murdoch

Sheila — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:19:19 EDT

The doubters were wrong: the Wired cover featuring dating columnist/microcelebrity Julia Allison is one of the best-selling covers for the tech magazine in the last eight years, Portfolio reports. We suppose that congratulations are in order. So congrats or whatever. Julia's Wired cover outsold Rupert Murdoch's and Sarah Silverman's. (That is 103,000 copies.) Except. She won by default! Sex n' high heels sells, obviousy, and a woman on the cover of a geek magazine—or a celebrity or fashion magazine, for that matter—always does better. And Wired doesn't put very many women on its cover. It's the Sarah Palin effect.

Leven Rambin Graduates

Sheila — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:47:21 EDT

Leven Rambin, our favorite teen soap star, tore through New York back when she was still jailbait—she stole her older sister's friend's boyfriend (that would be Time Out dating columnist Julia Allison's webtard ex, Jakob Lodwick), was photographed at every party (the important ones, anyway), and had a baffling assignation with fruitini-swilling, scarf-wearing Men's Vogue writer Hud Morgan (who once got bitch-slapped at the Beatrice.) All before she turned eighteen! Now she's in Los Angeles, doing Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Rambin's (character's) new love interest is quite a step up: he's the savior of humanity, John Connor, "the boy who will one day lead an army of puny humans against sentient bloodthirsty robots."

Here is Your Miss Williamsburg

Sheila — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:07:48 EDT

The much-vaunted Miss Williamsburg pageant we warned you about has come and gone. What to say—the hip neighborhood manages to simultaneously be everything that's wrong and right with Brooklyn's creative slacker class. Since we didn't have the energy to attend (it sounded exhausting), we are happy that the New York Press covered the blessed event. "The girl crowned Miss Williamsburg, C.J. Johnson, boasted the talent of shot-gunning a PBR and taking her panties off through an American Apparel 'onesie'..." Click through to see the crowned King and Queen of Williamsburg, along with pageant drama (includes Xanax and New Jersey!)

"But first I had to ask [pageant coordinator] Misha one last thing: 'What’s with the MC? No one can understand a word he says.' Misha started sweating missiles. 'This fucking DJ is huge in Berlin!' she sputtered, 'the crowd should be lucky to hear him mumble. So he did a little too much Xanax before the show and maybe a bunch of other stuff.'"

Also, scandal: we hear the newly-crowned Ms. Williamsburg is actually from Jersey...! And that the dude winner is actually coordinator Mischa's sister's boyfriend!

[New York Press; photos Lola Wakefield]

Dave Zinczenko, America's Last Hope

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:55:39 EDT

Dave Zinczenko is the self-proclaimed "Barak [sic] Obama of publishing"! That, we hear, was just part of the inspirational email that Men's Health editor and former Julia Allison boyfriend Dave "Abs" Zinczenko sent out to his entire staff recently! He alone can save the magazine, was reportedly the gist of the message. Also, the Zinc is apparently searching for a top-notch publicist to get him back on the Today show—he used to appear regularly, but then his friend, a Today show producer, got fired! First he lost his title as Designated Magazine Industry Hottie, and now this. Perhaps Dave should be a bit more generous passing out the dinners with Men's Health models. Is Zinczenko really this much of a narcissist? He looks like such a nice young man. If you got the last email, or have other recent info to share about the abbed one, email us. [UPDATE: Dave Z tells us that Men's Health is looking for a new PR director, but that he is "Absolutely not looking for personal PR. (And never have)"]

Rex Sorgatz Grows His Microcelebrity One B-Roll at a Time

Sheila — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:53:25 EDT

Rexie! The nerdy Midwestern micro-celebrity "expert" and blogger who allegedly makes Tumblr girls (and the HuffPo's Rachel Sklar) weak in the knees has inexplicably grabbed yet another bit of micro-fame—he's in some b-roll for the local news in St. Paul, outside the Daily Show. What does the voice-over say about him? Just wait. (Bonus footage: the redhead is former Wonkette editor Anna Marie Cox.)

Gorgeous George's Guide To Villainy

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:03:10 EDT

Gorgeous George led to Julia Allison. Which is to say, he was "one of the first entertainers to create a faux persona that elicited hisses." The original fameball! George was a pro wrestler in the 1940s, and figured out that being a bad guy could be just as lucrative as being a good guy—and a lot easier. A new biography of GG has just come out, and his crazy life as a body-slamming fop offers plenty of guidance to anyone considering using villainy as a path to fame. Five things to set you out properly on your road to evil destiny:

Be desperate. Gorgeous George got into wrestling, which was fake, but also offered the very real assurance of getting injured. He risked getting his ass kicked on the street by adopting such a pansy-ish persona. He once took a match in which, if he lost, he'd have to cut off his beloved hair. Why? He needed the money!
Be feared. It's impossible to survive long as a villain if people don't have a fundamental fear of you. Otherwise, you'll be torn to pieces (literally, in the olden days; now, just your reputation is at stake). George weighed 215 pounds, was a good athlete, and scared the yokels with his weirdness, besides.
Have a talent. You can't just be hated. You have to be hated for doing something you're good at. George was actually a good wrestler and a showman. Julia Allison is actually talented in charm. Being a villain without talent makes you, for example, the Son of Sam.
Get a good outfit. Oh, this is key. Be memorable! Gorgeous George had long hair, which he died blond and curled before matches; toted around a tea set to indicate his upper-crust persona; and had "a man-servant who attended him in the ring and sprayed perfume wherever he would walk." That's style. Kim Kardashian wears booty shorts. Every successful villain has their own thing.
Drown your sorrows. Upside of being a famous bad guy: Fame. Downside: You're a bad guy. Being a villain can be hard on the soul. Gorgeous George ended up as an alcoholic who "literally drank himself to death." But you can say that for lots of non-famous jerks too.

[WSJ]

Leven Rambin Joins Her Own Fan Club

Sheila — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:31:35 EDT

The teen soap star (and little sis of lifestreamer/dating columnist Julia Allison's BFF Mary) has moved to L.A. to do some more acting. Maybe it's swelled her head: a tipster brought it to our attention that she's become a fan of herself on Facebook. See?

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Sheila — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:59:31 EDT

Find Julia Allison! [Jezebel]

Inside The Nonsociety Cattle Call

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:50:48 EDT

We asked for spies to infiltrate (far too dramatic a term, really) the Julia Allison/ Nonsociety pilot show shoot yesterday. We know the event caused a good deal of drama amongst the fameballs themselves; but what was it like for the average attendee, drawn in by the heady promise of proximity to Mary Rambin and co.? Gawker commenter Rolls Royce Revenge obliged by sending us a full report on the doings. The full tale of the "profoundly weird" experience (and JA's "steaming heaps of charisma"), after the jump:

Sooooooooooooooo. Went to the Fifth Avenue Fameball Fake Friends Soirée last night, my expectations just a tad lower than my ostensible hostesses’ necklines. The IMI Club turned out to be a cushy, slightly Deco space atop 745 Fifth Avenue , the thoroughly Deco hulk overlooking Bergdorf’s. Met at the elevator with a gent bearing cocktails; the spread of sushi and cheese was ample, yet tasteful, and ornamented with lovely bouquets of flowers. The President, Vice-President and Director Emeritus of the Lemoncake Stupid Society were all there, faming away. Or I think they were, as I don’t really know Mary and Meghan from a hole in the ground. JA, on the other hand, fills a room with steaming heaps of charisma. She is surprisingly petite for a person I had always imagined to be rather tall and voluptuous; if I may degrade a quote from Henry James’ “The Europeans,” “she may not have a huge bosom—but she holds her head the way a woman with a huge bosom should.” With a fairy-tale complexion and a poisoned apple-laugh, she’s Snow White, Rose Red, the Wicked Stepmother and the Big Bad Wolf wrapped up20in a Pez-dispenser sized pack.

The other guests arrived and lo, they were a far more attractive and interesting bunch than expected, if a little tentative. I met and spoke with several people in music, law, finance, medicine and the arts, representing a fair cross-section of our fair city, none of whom seemed to have any clear idea of why they were there or why a sequel to “Heathers” was being filmed a little to the left of the cheese plate. Ironically, the vibe was much more High Society than Non-Society, suggesting that our erstwhile adventuresses had once again overshot the mark and were in danger of being outclassed by their crashers. Part of the disconnect was the simple fact that JA, Grumpy and Happy were continually surrounded by the camera crew, which made mingling with their guests a little awkward. Those admiring the (stunning) view were temporarily herded indoors at one point so that the main camera could film JA and either Mary or the other one talking or laughing or pouting or maybe just being disappointed with themselves. The other reason was that while initial comments suggested that our mutual friend Jennifer—of course you know Jennifer—had invited us all, subsequent mentions of Gawker page views left me suspecting that anyone there not working the event or a little white dog was one of you lot, in which case, next commentor’s ball should be clothing=2 0optional. It’s a bit hard to go up to someone and say “I think you’re kind of a clown and I am here sort of on a dare.” Particularly when the soft-shelled crab cakes are ZOMG sooooooooo super-yummo!

I am not fond of those who abuse hospitality, which is kind of what I’m doing here, so allow me to say: Julia, your party was fab. The food was great, the venue was beautiful, your dog is adorable, I really enjoyed the whole thing. My regards to Whosis and Whatsherface.

That said, in retrospect, the event seems profoundly weird.

Why was this party—which must have taken quite a bit of planning and expense—thrown together “at the last minute?”

How is it that three girls about town could not fill an intimate room with 35 people they actually knew? (I am guessing at least half of those there were responding to the letter on Gawker.)

Why was the party taking place in 1986? Was there a PS on the Gawker letter that said Cplease come dressed as a bit character from American Psycho?”

And could it be20that Miss Mary is less disappointed in herself than in herself standing next to Julia Allison? In which case, sucks to be you, kiddo. You just hitched your wagon to a publicity black hole.

In closing, why did I have so much fun? Is my life that bereft of adorable dogs and guys trying not to knock me out with a sound boom? Could it be that every one of us is alone on an Art Deco terrace, slightly disappointed with ourselves as we nibble the miso-infused strip steak skewer of fate? Aren’t we all, at the end of the superglamorous slightly Spy Magazine day, Mary Rambin? Or the other one?

Except for Julia, of course. And her little dog, too.

Be An Extra On Julia Allison's Show!

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:46:08 EDT

NonSociety, Julia Allison's new media project of indeterminate meaning, needs your help! The protocelebrity and Wired cover girl is filming a TV pilot show for Bravo with her friends, and she's sent out an invitation seeking “35 fashionable, vivacious people who will agree to go on camera.” It's interesting that while Julia's show has been heavily hyped for some time, she's rather self-deprecating about its prospects. The exclusive affair happens tonight, so the invite is last-minute. While you might expect, say, half of your friends to come to a party you throw, we're conservatively estimating that Julia is counting on around a 5% response rate, meaning she sent this email out to 700 people in search of 35 takers. We could be wrong! After the jump, read the entire invite—then RSVP and help her out. It's the least you can do. Spies, please send us some details.

A Ballsy Take On Julia Allison

Ryan Tate — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:06:45 EDT

Julia Allison posted the first new, original, non-intro video to her website venture Non Society! It's decently edited and more entertaining than a lip dub, if blatantly commercial. But that's not what this video is. It's a new parody of the lifecasting startup, albeit harrier, nuttier and significantly more disturbing than the last. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. You might recognize some of the cast! [NomSociety]

Jakob Lodwick Could Never Quit Us

Sheila — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:09:49 EDT

Only weeks after the millionaire tech-boy stormed off the Internet in a huff, he reappears in this video on his website. SERIOUSLY Jakob, you should just bring your blog back because posting stuff like this anywhere simply invites more abuse. Also, this vid will be especially relatable if you've ever smoked a boatload of weed and ate a bag and a half of 'shrooms at the same time.

Julia Allison In Hair-Changing Shocker!

Ryan Tate — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:29:16 EDT

DID THIS WOMAN KILL BRAVO'S JULIA ALLISON AND STEAL HER DOG Y/N?? [Non Society]

iPhone Schadenfreude

Sheila — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:20:19 EDT

Nonsociety lifecaster, "tech blogger" Megan Asha, has damaged her iPhone 3G with a stiletto! Remember, it's wrong to take pleasure in the misfortunes of others. Except when the Jesus Phone is involved! HAHA. [NonSociety]

Julia Allison, Spiritually Indicted

Sheila — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:28:08 EDT

"Her days are taken up with aggressively managed project that involves cameras and dictating where and when she should be and how she should behave that she doesn't enjoy, she's not having sex any more, and she's actually depressed by the sensation of being a publicly traded brand..." [Radar]

Keith Gessen Movie Features Not Quite All The Happyish Young Blogging People

Ryan Tate — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:46:16 EDT

Here's Rex Sorgatz's video of various people reading from the de-Harvardized copy of tortured soul Keith Gessen's All The Sad Young Literary Men. It was shot largely in the Gawker offices! And it involves such noted internet personalities as Andrew Krucoff, Choire Sicha, Julia Allison, Alex Pareene, Rachel Sklar — the d-list goes on and on. You'll either find it entertaining and funny (I did!) or feel like you need a decoder ring. A cheat sheet to the best moments is after the jump, if you want all the surprises spoiled, along with an update on the status of the modified All The Sad Young Literary Men, now an official literary hot potato.

The cheat sheet, via Sorgatz:

Personal faves include Krucoff stumbling across Emily's name, Julia musing about Google hits, Sklar standing in front of Balthazar, and Choire closing the house. But all of you! All of you have made America (and perhaps Russia) a better place!

Also, we are told that the book copy in this video, the FSU Middlebrow Remix of All The Sad Young Literary Men, has passed from Andrew Krucoff, who bought it from us at $890 (proceeds to the homeless), to the blogger 99, who bought it at $275 (discounted by the bundling of a date) from Krucoff (proceeds to a soup kitchen).

We are all witness to something very special! Don't you already feel more literarified and shit??

Pregnant Man's Baby Photos: $300,000

Ryan Tate — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:19:12 EDT

Female->male transsexual Thomas Beatie is featured in People magazine today with his new daughter Susan Juliette, born June 29 in Bend, Oregon without a c-section (which would make it a "natural birth," haters!). GaySocialites.com said the child will live a "confusing life" because of the father's love for the spotlight, adding that admirers of the pioneering birth should bear in mind that "you don't go on the cover of People magazine for free honey!" Actually, that's very true!

According to a celebrity magazine insider we've been in touch with, Time Inc. paid Beatie $300,000 for People's rights to the exclusive baby pics.

No word on whether he's giving the money to charity, but doesn't Beatie kind of deserve to keep it? Bidding on Angelina Jolie's baby pictures approached $20 million, and even D-listers Nicole Richie and Jamie-Lynn Spears managed to net reported seven-figure deals for photos of their offspring. And not one of those people went to the trouble of changing her gender, retaining her reproductive organs or waddling around as the world's only pregnant man!

In fact, one wonders if Beatie couldn't have gotten a better deal. Sad! But only by the (also sad) metric of fameball skills. Beatie still looks like a very happy Dad, which is rumored to be worth quite a lot in and of itself (pish!).

Real Geeks Confused By Latest Wired Cover

Sheila — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:52:03 EDT

"This is what happens when real geeks find out about the self proclaimed [New York] digerati," writes a tipster, referring to this awesome geek conversation, which includes, "I bet those other fake geeks dont even know what an RS-232 booster chip is for."

syrix: WTF

syrix: this world is going to crap

syrix: i dont get this

syrix: http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/16-08/howto_allison

syrix: i dont even know who Julia Allison is

Jim: oh dude dont you read my tumblr

Jim: shes the prototypical fameball

syrix: *flameball?

Jim: no fameball

Jim: sigh, you dont hang out on the cool side of the internet do you?

[Jim Rock]

Five Annoying Online Publicity Stunts

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:55:02 EDT

Michael Ian Black, comedian and VH1's go-to analyst of pop culture, has started an online feud with testosterone and beer-fueled guy blogger Tucker Max. Black challenged Tucker to a fight, Tucker accepted, and now they are both talking trash in a way advantageous to the promotion of Black's new book. This would all be cuter if Black didn't just try to start another online feud with David Sedaris, to promote the same book. These online publicity stunts are incredibly difficult to pull off without being annoying; below, a jaded look back at five that sucked the big one:

1. MIB Vs. Tucker Max/ Sedaris: Yes, Michael Ian Black is a funny and tolerable guy. But variety is the spice of life, man. How about an online encouragement of somebody?
2. Jakob Lodwick Quits The Internet: This one is lame because it will not stick, we guarantee. For one, he runs an internet company. Yea.
3. Julia Allison Quits Blogging: *Scoff*. Also: other things.
4. Patrick Moberg And His Subway Dream Girl: A guy sees a cute girl on the subway, draws a picture of her, puts it on a website, and gets famous. The two finally meet! They go on national TV! Everybody writes about them! Then they end up not really liking each other that much, proving that love is a dirty sham and we live in a cold and heartless world. Thanks for nothing.
5. The Keith Gessen Middlebrow Remix Book: We muddy the clearcut sides of this tedious feud by having Gessen remove the objectionable references to Harvard in his objectionable book and replace them with references to Florida State. Btw, bidding on this for-charity item ends tomorrow so bid bid bid!

Nonsociety's Video Remix: Valtrex Edition

Sheila — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:15:07 EDT

Gawker videographer Richard Blakeley noticed that if you re-mix the embarassingly bad Nonsociety video (dating columnist/publicity whore Julia Allison & Friends' new "online business" with actual investors) it syncs up perfectly with... a Valtrex commercial. Watch it! In related "defending your online reputation" news...

(If the video isn't working for you—we're trying to fix it!)

In Sunday's Page Six Magazine, Julia Allison debates Rachel Sklar (who writes for the Huffington Post, the world's personal blog) about whether or not it is pointless to defend your online reputation. Allison—predictably and correctly—says no. "There is no justice on the Web." (She would know.) Rachel Sklar suggests to "fight the hell back" if someone lies about you online. Perhaps through long, long, longlonglong essays on the HuffPo?

Emily Gould On Keith Gessen's Blog

Ryan Tate — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:33:17 EDT

"Unnatural... weird... a losing battle."

Presented Without Comment

Sheila — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:31:36 EDT

Julia Allison, dating columnist/commencement speaker. [via Alex Balk]

Mary Rambin Videoblogs Her Colonic

Sheila — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:03:37 EDT

Hey, have you guys ever heard of a colonic? Dating columnist Julia Allison's best friend, "handbag designer" and failed-reality-show veteran Mary Rambin, has a very important public-service announcement to make: colonics are good for you! She made a video about them! [Style by Mary] Update: Oh, copycat! Tracie from Jezebel did this months ago.

Julia Allison an "Embarrassment" to Star, Unsurprisingly

Sheila — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:12:01 EDT

Radar found an "inside source" to tell them the obvious on why Julia Allison's contract wasn't renewed as Star magazine's $100,000-a-year TV personality: "She was, frankly, an embarrassment to Star... She never really got it. It was all about Julia and self-promotion and herself. A lot of people were uncomfortable with her. She was just the wrong image for Star." The wrong image for a second-tier celebrity tabloid? Ouch. [Radar]

Internet Fameball Boys Just Really Comfortable With Their Sexuality, OK?

Sheila — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:40:16 EDT

Tumblr's David Karp and Iminlikewithyou's Charles Forman are just really friendly, OK? When Rachel Sklar let it drop on Radar yesterday that Karp is now dating CNET's Caroline McCarthy, people started saying, "Wait? Thought he was gay?" Nope! And of course you already know that fameball-in-training Forman is dating ex-Star talking head Julia Allison. He's not gay either, to the surprise of some people in the media orbit. What about these pictures, then...? A combination of freedom of expression, metrosexuality, and fameballing? (Click for our "despite what it may look like in these many photos, David Karp and Charles Forman are Not Gay—the Photo Gallery!")

E-mail from Karp's Tumblr. And don't even get us started on Forman's business card.

Charles Forman is a Bit of a Fameball

Sheila — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:31:05 EDT

Our newest person of interest is Iminlikewithyou's Charles "Chuck" Forman, who was recently featured in a techboy photo spread in Esquire and has been dating New York dating columnist and Star talking head Julia Allison for the past three months. Scratch that—he's a shameless self-promoter! SURPRISE. He also chills with Kevin Rose of Digg and hangs out at the Founders Club with headphones on. (And Julia Allison can't quite bring herself to call him her boyfriend yet—she recently blogged that "l may be a late blooming female commitment-phobe.")

His web video-game site is called Iminlikewithyou, and as Valleywag reported, he's building a "Tetris-like game."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we hear that Julia has been telling people that the hard drive that she recently lost ~~contained a sex tape~~ NO! SHE WAS JUST JOKING!

In her defense, she's been much more discreet with the not-boyfriend relationship with Forman.

Related: Journalists Stuck on a Plane
[Photo: Nick McGlynn for Random Night Out]

Julia Allison, International Celebrity

Nick Denton — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:19:28 EDT

Now updated with a video profile of the latter-day Carrie Bradshaw—in French. (Scroll down to end.)

Julia Allison's German Press: "Ich Bin Carrie Bradshaw 2.0"

Sheila — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:11:27 EDT

Germany, for reasons that elude us, is going crazy for New York dating columnist/Star talking head Julia Allison. Perhaps because she seized on the opportunity of the new Sex and the City movie to brand herself as the "new" Carrie Bradshaw. (The media loves it when you just go ahead and tell them what the angle is. Saves us a ton of work and thinking!) JA had a German (commenter Swifter!) translate the unintentionally humorous "I am Carrie Bradshaw 2.0" article. "Actually, she stresses, she is a 'sociology, biology and psychology lady journalist.'"

"I am Carrie Bradshaw 2.0,” in Die Welt:

Expensive dresses, parties and columns: Julia Allison copies the lifestyle of the Sex and the City heroine.

New York – It was a hard week for Julia Allison. Thursday for example: six interviews for television. Six fresh makeup changes. And a hectic message situation: George Clooney separates from his girlfriend. TV-cook Rachel Ray makes videos because she wears a Palestinian scarf in advertising spots. Most important topic however: Sex and the City, the movie.

Who, if not Julia Allison could completely talk about the return of Carrie & Co? Because Julia Allison is the modern, real-life version of the Lifestyle icon and series heroine Carrie Bradshaw, which lives through its three friends dear desire and suffering of single women in New York and writes columns about it. “I am Carrie Bradshaw 2.0”, says Julia Allison in the telephone interview with The World. “If Carrie came to New York today then she would be me.” Then Carrie would be 27 years old, with long brown hair, would wear art lashes and balloon dresses, write columns for the city magazine “Time Out” and would be blogging and seen as a prominent expert on television.

...“In all areas of life that concern relationships, the same questions: “Will I call him? Am I attractive to him? Am I to marry him?” she says. No matter how old one is: 17, 27, or 37.

Actually, she stresses, she is a “sociology, biology and psychology lady journalist.” That is one of the differences between her and Carrie: “I concentrate on the deeper questions,” she says. “For example, like similar personal and political relations.” Finally, she worked on political science at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a few months on Capitol Hill. In addition, she also had a short affair with a congressional representative.

...Otherwise, she doesn’t do so well with men. Those who would date her have problems with the fact that she writes about her relationships and thus, her partners. “They Google me and then they go away.” Nevertheless, Julia believes her openness is the correct way: “It is cowardly to hide your private life.” She sees herself as the vanguard of a technological revolution. Also, one difference with “Sex and the City” – heroine Carrie, she could hardly call up her emails. “I am a female pioneer. I stand on the crossing between the old and the new media.” This is enough, at least until a younger copy of Julia Allison comes crosses over into our time.

Update: And now she's Carrie Bradshaw in France, too!

Help Julia Allison Find Her Hard Drive!

ian spiegelman — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:03:04 EDT

Star editor-at-large Julia Allison needs your help. Her pal, heiress Meghan Asha, absentmindedly left Julia's external hard drive on the subway on Friday, perhaps lost forever in the dank bowels of NYC. Upon said hard drive was "every video I’ve ever taken (as well as every photo before 2006) … and no back up. None. Everything gone … literally hundreds of videos and photos, every family event, every birthday, every lip dub I never posted, every sex tape (kidding) … gone. I was in shock the entire day - I’ve always been the scrapbook-kind-of-girl, and memories (if you haven’t noticed) are incredibly important to me." What can you do?

"So. I continue to hold out hope that some kind soul will find it and return it to me. I’m praying. Videos of me talking to my grandparents, Lilly when she was a baby, my parents on their anniversary, etc … those can’t be replaced. I actually cried. I would give anything to get them back [...]

"And tech community? Can we please see some innovative ABS solutions (especially in the clouds) that work better than the ones currently available? I’ve tried a few (which shall remain nameless) and I’ve been underwhelmed. My tech guy friends insist that if I want an online backup system, Mozy and S3 are about it. Anyone in love with one I may not know of?" [ItsMeJulia]

Now come on, people. It's been three days. Someone has Julia's hard drive. Give it back!

This Just in! JA and our own Richard Blakeley at something called "The Jetblue-Thrillist Event" in Las Vegas last night. So don't be mean, or she might kill him!

Paul Janka Will Seduce You Via the TV

Sheila — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:14:05 EDT

Creepy sexual compulsive Paul Janka is, predictably, trying to stretch his 15 minutes of fame into a TV series. (As if a humiliating appearance on Dr. Phil wasn't enough!) A acquaintance of the self-styled Manhattan Casanova told us that "a friend of mine, who is an aspiring actor, recently auditioned for Paul Janka and an unknown production company who is producing a spec pilot that Showtime has an interest in (but not so interested that they funded the pilot.)" In fact, Paul was just in L.A. last week meeting with Showtime. What kind of television classic do we have to look forward to?

Although the most obvious answer is either a reality show or scripted reality, like "The Hills," it seems like more of an "'Entourage' rip-off" sort of affair. The reason? Dude isn't quite young enough for the reality machine—he's in his early 30s, and it's really only entertaining to watch pretty little twentysomethings run around making fools of themselves.

That said, the premise of the pilot is "Janka playing himself getting loads of pussy every episode."