<![CDATA[Gawker: ultragrrrl]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: ultragrrrl]]> http://gawker.com/tag/ultragrrrl http://gawker.com/tag/ultragrrrl <![CDATA[About Those 38,000 Copies of Ultragrrrl's Book]]> "In 2005 [Sarah Lewitinn] wrote The Pocket DJ, a book of playlists for different genres, moods, and occasions. It sold 38,000 copies—successful enough that she's signed to do a second book, The Pocket Karaoke," yesterday's Voice cover article told us. Hmm, we thought, that's a very impressive figure! Especially because the numbers gleaned from Nielsen Bookscan, which doesn't track all retail outlets, are very different: like 30,000 copies different. Being sort of like journalists, we decided to investigate.

First stop: Tricia Romano! "I asked her what the sales were, I didn't check against that with her publisher and just took her word for it. I asked her twice, and she gave me the same number both times." Well that if asking twice isn't a test of accuracy, we don't know what is! We went ahead and asked Simon Spotlight Entertainment's publicity director whether she could explain why Bookscan shows fewer than 8,000 copies sold. "Corporate-policy prevents us from releasing sales figures but I can confirm that a large portion of the book sales were through special sales." There you have it, sort of: Ultragrrrl's book is a huge success, possibly!

In Defense of Ultragrrrl [Voice]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244506&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[In Defense of Rachel Zoe]]> Why does the profile of celeb stylist Rachel Zoe in today's Styles bring to mind some other recent take on the career of a maligned, super-successful lady? Maybe it's quotes like this one: "She brings almost a prescient sense of where the market is going to be, and of where peoples' tastes are." Yes, Rachel Zoe is totally the Ultragrrrl of LA! Or fashion! Or being thin! Or something. And like yesterday's controversial Voice article, this piece doesn't have much new info, or many quotes that don't sound political or hedgy. In fact, the truest-sounding thing anyone says in the whole thing is probably Rachel herself: '"Over the last year I've learned to develop a really thick skin." Well, clearly.

The Stylist Who Would Be Star [NYT]
[Photo: Misha Erwitt]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244415&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Rich Juzwiak's Definitive Take On That Ultragrrrl Article]]> Yesterday, our allegedly cooler siblings at Idolator shared their thoughts about Tricia Romano's In Defense of Ultragrrrl Voice cover story. Today, world champion cat blogger Rich Juzwiak of Fourfour weighs in, so brilliantly that we believed in the internet again (again!) The whole thing is a must-read, but we have plucked out the highlights in deference to your ADD. If you only read one more bullet-pointed list about Ultragrrrl, let it be this one!

  • "She has this way of spinning hipness and pluck and zazz and what appears to be genuine enthusiasm into (again, what appears to be) a cushy lifestyle. As hustles go, you can't really knock Lewitinn's."
  • "And so, I ask seriously, because, after reviewing the facts again, my mind is boggled: what the fuck does Ultragrrrl need to be defended against? Isn't she, like, winning at life and lunching with greatness?"
  • "Message-board and blog comments mock Lewitinn's appearance (to the degree that makes Romano's heart bleed) ... Big. Deal. When you're visibly successful, you're going to have people who hate you. When you write a blog further heightening your success' visibility and otherwise blathering about your fabulous lifestyle, you're going to have more people hate you ...That's life."
  • "The Internet can be a funhouse of emotions, where people feel free to distort, gushing or seething at the blippiest of passing fancies because ultimately, succinct, precise writing is hard, damn it ...The transfer of emotions in an online setting is some telenovela shit."
  • "Obviously, I believe in the power and potential truth of the Internet, otherwise, I wouldn't waste my time on this blog."

    Yes, us too again now. Now and forever!

    The Offensive [Fourfour]

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244182&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Best In Show: Blog Pets Face Off. Meow!]]> cute.jpg"Omg, totes out of stuff to write about at myspecialopinion.blogspot.com today. Oh, hey, look, Fluffy is doing that thing where he puts his paw over his eyes. Awww! [Digital camera snap noise]" Sound familiar? It does to the bloggers listed after the jump, who are famous ("famous") for posting about their pets. At the risk of sounding like a total girl, we guess they're like adorable or whatever. But as you know, everything is a competition. So: these three fuzzy fluffballs of Kute will face off in a poll later on, once they've inspired some other bloggers to put their own animal companions' honor on the line. To be considered, though, the pet in question has to have been the subject of a lot of blog posts. And while costumes are obviously a plus, entrants who have a blog that's just about their pet will not be considered because of sheer patheticness. Also, please remember that we are just talking about the pets here and not the blogs. You can save your mean comments about which of the bloggers below you hate most when we're singling them out for, like, "whose mom has the worst cancer."

So — blog/pet role models to get the ball rolling:

Cityrag/Buddy The Wonder Doggolden_buddy.jpg Fourfour/Winston:

Ultragrrrl/Monkey
monkey.jpg

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