Posh and Becks Take on W Mag - HOT

I think little Posh Spice, Victoria Beckham, has ousted her own husband as sexiest human. The Steven Klein photos in the August 07 issue of W are nothing less than sultry, sweaty, and voyeuristic. Seems like she is channeling a bit of Edie Sedgewick grit and Liz Taylor glam. Can you imagine that she has pushed two kiddies out of that body?? Now that is what I call good genes....and an endless supply of money to make yourself hot. Gorgeous! Now if only we could get David Beckham to lighten up on the tats....he looks like he came straight from either a prison yard or a trailer park.

See all the pics on Style.com

Summer: A User's Guide - Suzanne Brown

Are you a summerologist? My great friend, Suzanne Brown, has compiled all the amazing things about summer into her new book, Summer: A User's Guide. This book takes you back to when you were a kid, makes you want to wear flip flops all year, and stop taking everything so seriously! Come visit Suzanne in Union Square tomorrow, Saturday, June 16th from 11-1. And by all means, take off your shoes, run in the grass, and have fun god dammit! We only have a few months of the great weather left!

Summer: A User's Guide by Suzanne Brown

Smoking makes you thin, doesn't it?

First it's underweight models, now it's magazine advertising. Where will the government draw the line in harassing the fashion industry? Congress has asked 11 leading women's magazines (including my beloved Vogue) to pull all cigarette advertising from their glossy pages. Did they ask any men's magazines? While they are at it, should they also pull ads for alcoholic beverages and fast food joints? In the world we live in today, cigarette advertising is really the least of our worries. Get a clue congress!

Check out the AdAge article

A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby

I happened to pick up Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down while in Texas as a Borders 3 for the price of 2 special. I really had no previous expectations, but I did know that the author wrote the novel that spawned the movie About a Boy with Hugh. The movie was generally amusing, so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Here's the story in a nutshell: 4 depressed Londoners wind up on the roof of a building on New Year's Eve with the intention of committing suicide. They consist of Martin, a middle aged TV personality who has just gotten out of prison for sleeping with a 15 year old (not knowing her age) and is a laughing stock in the tabloids, Maureen, a woman who has spent the past 20 years caring for her incoherent and disabled son, Jess, a politician's daughter craving attention whose sister has recently disappeared, and JJ, an American in London who has just broken up with his band and lost his girl. The story takes twists and turns through the character's insecurities, annoyances, and misgivings. The quartet ultimately comes down from the roof, tries to figure out what is left in their lives to hold on to, and commits to take each day at time (all the while with that great dry British sense of humor). The story is told in the first person through each character's perspective which makes it a much more interesting read. However, I did find it annoying the author had the American, JJ, saying words like fortnight, wanker, etc....things that an American would never say in everyday conversation.

Overall, an entertainingly dark (considering how the four met) comedic novel with lots of wit and an overall message that no matter how bad you think things have gotten, wait three months to reevaluate your situation before you do anything irreversible.

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

NY Times Style Section - Pretty Cool

Last Tuesday I attended the Toast for the Children event benefiting the Children of Bellevue. It was a fabulous affair at the Mandarin which featured a food and wine tasting from NYC's top restaurants while benefiting a great cause. Needless to say I completely stuffed my face and drank more than just a tasting of wine. So, you can imagine my surprise when I received a text on Sunday morning telling me to check out the New York Times Style section. In all it's glory on page 12....there it was Barbara, Todd, and Sara: the lone representation of the benefit. I am not going to lie, I was glowing all day. It is not everyday that you get in the paper (I think the last time consisted of high school track and field standings where my last name was misspelled). Just add it to the list of incredible things that have happened to me in the past year.

US Weekly....Lawyers, it's time to staff up

Is it just me, or have the covers of the past few US Weekly's been quite brazen.....almost to the verge of slander? I would say it's pretty incriminating when your face is plastered on the cover with the title "Hollywood's Drug Problem" or that your life resembles Rosemary's Baby. The celebrity PR spiral must be out of control right now. But hey, there's no such thing as bad publicity. Keep those second rate starlets in the spotlight! Who cares that Lindsay's best movie was Mean Girls a million years ago, Katie married Tom cruise because she has been a huge nobody since Dawson's Creek ended, or Britney is in a glorified sanitorium. Keep the covers flowing!

In Vogue

I discovered this book while I was sipping my frothy cappuccino on the fabulous Hermes orange couch at Garren last weekend, and I was increasingly infatuated with every turn of the page. In Vogue chronicles the history of Vogue magazine, easily the most influential fashion 'zine of all time. Not only is it one of those gorgeous giant coffee table books (which I am obsessed with), but it is a complete history of the magazine. Also featured are memorable fashion spreads over the past 100+ years; everything from early illustrations (before mass-printed photography) to 60s socialites to 80s glamazons to the present. I love flipping through and remembering seeing certain photos in the magazine (I don't read Vogue...I study it). This is a must-have for any Vogue junkie....absolutely fascinating.

A Photographer's Life

Annie Leibovitz's A Photographer's Life is one of the most poignant art books I have seen. I was familiar with her work through the endless covers and spreads for Vogue she has done over the years, but I was amazed to see that most of the pictures in the book are actually from her personal life. Sure there are the few breathtaking magazine covers thrown in for good measure, but the majority of the book takes place in her home, studio, travels, and the such. She tells the story of her life through pictures: life, love, birth, death and makes the book so incredibly personal you can't help but read all the captions and study each picture as if it were your own family. The photos go in chronological order so you feel like you are going through the journey with her. I was literally moved to tears by some of the pictures. It is an absolutely wonderful collection and goes well beyond the Photoshopped celebrity delusion. This is a person sharing her life. Amazing.

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life 1990-2005

Naked

I just finished reading Naked from one of my all-time favorite authors, David Sedaris. This is the third book of his I have read, preceded by Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and Me Talk Pretty One Day. Each book is a group on short stories of David's life from childhood through adulthood. The stories are roughly in chronological order which makes you feel like you are having a cup of coffee with him and throughout the conversation he sprinkles in anecdotes depending on the conversation. I really feel like I personally know him, and he is one of my gay best friends. This book is hilarious. They all are for that matter. For the past week I have been "that girl" on the train that in attempting to stifle her laughter, has appeared completely insane. But insane in a good way.

Here is just a smattering of topics covered:

• Trying not to not be 'outed' as a child at Greek summer camp
• Visiting a nudist camp for a week long vacation
• His scotch-loving, smoker mother dying of lung cancer
• Hitchhiking across the country out of adventure and sheer spite towards his parents
• His run-in with a closeted gay named Curly who had quite a collection of fake penises
  

There are few things I love more in this world than wit, sarcasm, and hilarity....and I get all three in this book. If you love intelligent humor, hilarious stories, love your gays, and want to feel silly for laughing out loud then BUY THIS BOOK!