Rupert Murdoch is one smart cookie. He purchased Myspace for 580 million dollars in 2004, and everybody threw their hands up and said he was crazy. Now he is in talks about trading Myspace to Yahoo! for a 25% stake in the company (a value of 11 billion dollars). Talk about a return on your investment, and a good exit strategy. See the thing is, Murdoch realizes that Myspace is just a bunch of Fred Durst pimps and Paris Hilton ho’s, and even though he has millions of them, they have about as much utility and value as a used Limp Bizkit CD on Amazon.com. This normally wouldn’t be too much of a problem, except for the fact that the Facebook.com is about to completely bulldoze the entire internet with their growth, quality of user-base, and new F8 platform, sending Myspace and its unsavory characters into the dustbin of internet history.

As a result, Murdoch is trying to inseminate Yahoo with his STD-laden internet property, and make out like a bandit. And Yahoo of course is eager to be on the receiving end because it hasn’t gotten any action recently so to speak of.

One of our favorite blogs has always been The Sartorialist.  That is why we were beyond flattered when the man behind this highly innovative and original fashion blog stopped us on 5th avenue for our picture last winter.  That man, Scott Schuman, is not only an amazing photographer and journalist, he is an outstanding person.  While today’s interview for “The Fashion Informer” comes across portraying him as the dedicated husband and father, we can say first hand that this guy is on top of that one of the most humble and genuine people we have met in fashion.  Keep up the good work Scott, and for everyone else, we recommend adding his blog to your daily read.

In other fashion news.  One of our favorite designers Roberto Cavalli has unnexpectedly announced that he will be doing a line for H&M.  This will be in stores starting November 8th.  And here is what Mr. Cavalli himself is saying about it:

“As the first Italian designer in the history of H&M, I enthusiastically welcomed this invitation, proud to bring the lively and positive spirit of my work to a new audience, who will be able to see and interpret my style in an individual way. I love freedom and challenges: breaking down barriers, experimenting in different directions. H&M is all this for me. I will add a dash of festivity and dreams“.

A dash of festivity and dreams?  Sounds magical.

Most of our friends are, like us, transplant Manhattanites, coming in from all over the world to live in this great city.  Well, while we certaintly can’t speak for everyone, in our case, the firefighters where we came from had jobs that mostly entailed of a lot of training so that they could become prepared for giving tours to children on field trips of the station house, running around town in the fire truck at parades and special events, and helping out with the occasional “emergency”.  This is NOT the case in New York.  These guys are not only on duty, but actually get work, hard work, daily.  Everytime I’m on the phone walking outside it seems like there’s a fire siren swarming by.  And yes, it gets rather annoying, but it’s also really, really cool.  We love firefighters (especially the men), and we loved starting our morning off today seeing them in action at a building fire on 17th street.  FYI those traveling on the NWRQ train to Union Sq, head out the south end of the park. 

Wow, New Yorkers really DO care a ton about the environment, that or they want to be seen with the new, hard to find “it” bag, even if it is only $15. Anya Hindmarch’s cotton “I’m not a plastic bag” tote goes on sale at her two store in Manhattan today. We stopped by the 60th and Madison location yesterday to check out the calm before the storm:

This store opens at 10:00 today, yet word on the street was that there was a line forming around 6:00am and we are beginning to wish we had pre-ordered (which is now, due to the overwhelmingly large demands, over with). Anyway, we plan on checking out the situation later this afternoon….Because we really do care about the environment…..oh who are we kidding, we want the new special bag too!

With departure of the Socialiterank.com website, which according to New York Magazine “wiped out what little dignity New York society had left”, a vacuum was created in the socialite realm. Sure there are tidbits here and there on the web, information, gossip, but no real ranking system so to speak off. This is why we propose that someone develop an application for Facebook’s new F8 platform, that allows people to rank socialites. How about call it “socialtard”, or “fauxristocracy”?

For those of you who don’t know wtf Facebook is (yes all 2 of you), “Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you” (from Facebook.com website). So let’s pit Olivia Palermo, Tinsley Mortimer, Byrdie Bell, Kristian LaLiberte, et. al. ad naseum head to head in a battle royale, mano y mano, and hopefully it won’t destroy what little dignity is left in Facebook.

It’s hot and sticky in Manhattan today and we absolutely love it.  Not even the burnt pretzel smell that follows you from block to block, the irrate women rushing around in a bigger hurry than anyone else, though god knows they have nothing actually important to be doing except save for tea at Bergdorf’s at 3:00; and even the tourists clogging up the sidewalk can’t take away from the feeling of satisfaction we get when walking around the city on a Tuesday afternoon.

Outside the Apple Store 5th ave where we see that both sexes enjoy a good smoke in the sun:

Outside FAO Schwartz a little punk gets pisse-off with another little punk for being such a little punk and talking on the phone:

Vendor guy that had no business one minute and a ten minute line the very next:

New York’s Finest on duty:

Outside Barney’s New York:

So what have we learned?  New Yorker’s like to smoke, the kids are spoiled hipsters, even if it’s day old fruit that’s been in hot sun, people will wait in line like cattle because a line means it’s something good, the cops choose to be bald on purpose, and Barney’s is an important stop on the hop-on, hop-off bus tour.

God we love this city.

The Associated Press is reporting today that Mayor Billionaire Bloomberg will be implementing a two-year experimental anti-poverty program in New York City that will reward the poor for good behavior, like $300 for doing well on school tests, $150 for holding a job and $200 for visiting a doctor, and $25 for attending parent-teacher conferences or for having your child maintain a 95% school attendance record.  

We are a little bit confused, isn’t the point of holding a job the compensation rewards from that job itself? Isn’t your health part of that motivating factor for getting a job in the first place? And don’t even get us started on the issue of paying a parent to attend a parent-teacher conference…However, then we realized that this program will use private funds that Bloomberg himself has raised because he didn’t want to spend government money on something this experimental. 

Now we are just thinking of ways that we could convince our mayor to reward US monetarily for OUR good behavior, such as the countless times we refrain from spraying poisonous gases at the “poor men” lining our block shouting obsenities and cat calls at us each day on our way to WORK….

Sunday night, after dinner at Balthazar, we headed over to the much talked about Rice to Riches  

We have been hearing about this place that ” specializes in a blistering new dessert phenomenon…that has broken tradition and has given RICE PUDDING a make over” for awhile now.  After being more than a bit skeptical, (rice pudding? isn’t that the large cottage-cheese-looking lump that grandma would accidentally set out on the dessert table at Christmas?), this place is magical. With over 20 flavors each day including sex, drugs, and rocky road, the edge of rum reason, coconut coma, and chocolate chip flirt, and really cool looking resealable packaging, this place’s creative marketing team hit jackpot. 

It’s like a meatier version of the Baskin Robbin’s experience, complete with as many “taste tests” as your little heart desires (though there is a maximum of 500 per customer)

Mischief (shown above) was our favorite with buttered graham cracker toppings on top.  This stuff tastes so good that it has to be soooo bad for you.  And, while they aren’t sharing their secret ingredients, don’t say they didn’t warn you, there’s a sign at the checkout reading “every calorie consummed here is yours to keep”. 

While we were trying our best to act like kids again this weekend, there were many who were getting very, very naughty.

Skyy vodka helped host The Playboy party for Amanda Beard this Saturday at Stereo by the Shore in Southampton

Above is the Guest of honor with her annoyingly gay sidekick Sasha Brown and equally annoying friend Lizzie Grubman who hopefully arrived by chauffer…

Star Jones made her own apperance, being led in by her pretend husband Al Reynolds.

And, if you thought the Hamptons couldn’t get any cheesier this weekend, take a look at what was going on across the island at both Star Lounge and Pink Elephant that very same night:

Yikes.

What better way to feel like we are back in college than bottles of Kettle One in frozen ice chuncks, greasy food that’s absolutely horrible for you, and drunk dancing to a washed out keyboardist?

While growing up means we have moved up to Belvedere and nights out at venues like The Box and 205, once in awhile it’s refreshing to feel young and silly. This is why Sammy’s is a great place to visit at least once (but only once) a year.

Here are what some guests have said about this 31-year old establishment:

“This is like the after-hours of a Bar Mitzvah gone CRAZY! The place is a “sh*t-hole”. Low ceilings filled with 1000s of business cards and photos of wild dinners. It’s also in a crappy part of town too. However it’s all part of a GREAT experiance.”

“Love the seltzer bottles that squirt out bubblies, the excessive Vodka, and the awkward little makeshift dance floor.”

“All I have to say, although this place is not figure friendly, you must try it, at least once. You have been warned, though, it is addictive and may be harmful to your health! My favorite is the chopped liver with the real chicken fat”

“Like celebrating your cousin’s bar mitzvah with 100 of your closest drunk friends.”

“This place is a heart attack waiting to happen.”

The night becomes blurry…located at 157 Chrystie St., between Delancey and Rivington, this is the perfect cure to your QLC (quarter-life crisis).

…Otherwise known as the Quarter Life Crisis, this is something that hits much closer to home for us.  Characteristics may include:

Reading through the above characteristics is like reading a textbook on our life.  So, since we’re not quite ready to start a band in our non-existent garages (need to own a house first for that to happen), the only thing that has been working to cure this crisis we’re in is to act like we are 5 again.  And that’s precisely what we did this weekend:

Building sand castles at Long Beach:

Suck on this adulthood: