Merriam-Webster announced today that the 2007 word of the year is "w00t"

w00t (interjection). expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word "yay"

Based on reader votes, this commonly used word among techies beat out "facebook" and "conundrum" for word of the year. You may remember our love of the "woot-offs"and all things woot....

[Photo from the Observer]

So Famegame.com is not new news to us. Kristian Laliberte trying to promote it to the New York Observer is. Apparently there will be a party this December 13th at, get this, GuestHouse, where the fame game team, along with other "cultural curators" will be determining some of the content that will be on display at their launch. The Launch will be February 29th, "an event officially launching Famegame.com and debuting 29 unique cultural projects, where guests can actually invest capital into helping implement these ideas." Sorry but we would like to know the names of the people actually investing capital into this....apparently we aren't the only ones missing the complete hilariousness of SocialRank.com.

Now Kristian has a bigger problem. See he got a little confused about what he was to be promoting. Ana Finel Honigman "a broadly-published New York and London-based critic and journalist" recently wrote an unpublished article for Britian's Tank Magazine about FameTheory, an upcoming collective artist exhibition. This is what Kristian should have been promoting, however he must have gotten mixed up. Now Honigman calls him a "monkey" and is accusing him of plagarizing without her permission. Here's an example:

• From Ms. Honigman’s Tank article:

Even the most coolly blasé people at a party clock it when a famous face enters the room. And a recognizable name turns a banal gathering into an event in the same way that a dash of spice turns mere food into a meal.

• Now, from Mr. Laliberte’s e-mail:

Admit it--even the most blasé people at an event clock it when a famous face enters the room. Celebrity--in any form---can turn the most bromidic soiree into an occasion.

So, maybe famegame isn't going to have any sort of revival. You know what though? Everyone makes mistakes. Just yesterday we got those two Wilson boys confused (Owen or Luke?) ha. We are going to have to cut the guy some slack. We are still confused though. Is there a party for famegame.com and a new launch in February? We thought that site was as over as the place they are hosting the party at (GuestHouse).

Gregory Littley, nightlife blogger and wanderer recently attended the opening of the "blue & cream" store on Bowery (you know the one with Izzy Gold), got his picture taken by "some dude", and then all of a sudden shows up in a completely unrelated Footlocker ad in RollingStone.

Yes, random, we know. I guess this is what happens when you roll with Leven Rambin, the 17 year old party animal that has her Birthday parties planned by "adopted big sis" Julia Allison at Tenjune, and bebops around town with Lydia Hearst-Shaw.

[Photo from Levenrambin.com]

Besides being Lydia's bff, Leven is known for her work on "All My Children". She plays both the Autistic daughter Lily Montgomery as well as her older half-sister Ava Benton. She was the only cast member who was nominated for an Emmy this year, (though had a rough time when she found out she didn't win). In real life, Leven is originally from Houston and was the granddaughter of J. Howard Rambin (former president and C.E.O. of Texaco). She is also currently working as a Ford model. We have been seeing her all over the place this fall and expect to see much more of her. At only 17 she has a good 3 more years left before rehab plans will be in the works.

[Photo from NY Mag]

Besides stealing leather umbrellas, model Le Call seems to be working on solving world peace.  This week, she was a feature interview in NY Magazine.  Besides eating lots of cereal, drinking Dewar's and hanging out at Freeman's on Friday nights, here's how the model sums up her days:

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
We mostly try to design the perfect exit strategy for Iraq, and if we can't come up with an answer, we take a bunch of pictures.

She must be doing something right, she has certaintly become one of the more successful of the New York model crew, is a frequent subject to NY Daily Intel blog, and hangs out with people like Luke Wilson.  She also think that you would be an idiot NOT to live in NYC even if you only pulled in $35K a year. 

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
Of course! Anyone who answers this question negatively should be ridden out on a rail.

Just when we started thinking she may be one of the few fairly witty models there are, she makes a statement like that.  We would love to give her that salary for 6 months and then ask her again what she thinks about this city on $35K a year.  She would have to start "borrowing" a lot more than umbrellas.

Bottlerocket is quickly becoming our favorite wine store.  "At Bottlerocket, shopping for wine is made intuitive. And fun!" So claims their website, which is like an "idiots guide to wine selection" in itself.  With a selection of 365 wines, all organized by theme such as seafood, poultry, meat, gifts, and even "take-out" where they have wines chosen for their compatibility with local take-out menus (whose menus are also available).  They will deliver to you, the owners and employees are always friendly, there is even a play area for kids, complete with a real-life friendly dog that seems to belong as much as the bottles.  It feels like a small town shop, with free wine tastings every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and various other events and classes throughout the year all advertised on a little blackboard outside.  Besides all of these things they are doing right, besides the several gift options to meet all of our holiday gift-giving needs, we found yet another reason to love BottleRocket...they are one of the few places in the city to sell Sofia Mini's.

These cute little boxes hold 4 cans of Socia blanc de blancs sparkling wine, complete with a little straw attached to each one.  It is the creation of the Niebaum-Coppola Winery, owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola who named the sparkling wine for daughter and fellow director Sofia Coppola.  We think that this is the perfect little gift.  It would also be fun to have at your holiday party and would definitely be the conversation starter.  Stop by Bottlerocket on 19th street off of 5th avenue to pick up some Sofia Minis or to create you own personalized holiday gift tub.  CHEERS!

[Photo from Racked]

Omg everyone!...the new Apple store on the corner of 14th and 9th will be opening tomorrow!  We will stay far away for awhile, but see this addition as a smart one for the company.  First of all, EVERY other Apple store we've ever been to has been jam packed at all hours, so it makes complete sense that they continue to open especially in the Meatpacking district, home of many the foreign tourist already (you know how much they dig Apple shit).  Maybe this addition will mean that there will be less traffic in some of our favorite boutiques down there as well.  Anyway, here are the details (via Gizmodo):

• Apple's first three-story glass staircase (pictured above)

• 46-foot Genius Bar capable of serving 100 tech-support seekers per hour with 12 stations. It isn't the longest GB in the world though; somewhere there's a 50 footer.

• Pro Labs: Free multi-session classes in Logic, Final Cut and Aperture. Six students sign up for 2hrs, once a week for four weeks. The classes are intense and totally free, starting Jan. 7

• It won't be open 24 hours like the Fifth Avenue store, but it will be open til midnight.

• A Concierge team wearing light blue shirts will be on hand to show off all the shop's wares.

• A total of 175 employees will work the store, mostly veterans from other NYC stores.

• This store will have an entire floor dedicated to service, that's 50% more total space for tech support and education than any other Apple Store.

The nippy weather is not going to have any affect on the line that is, no doubt, already in formation.  Get there early if you want to get in on the fun...or do what we do and continue to make fun of people that wait in lines.

Omaha...."somewhere in middle America", may be best known for being the star in a Counting Crows single, Warren Buffett, and the College World Series....(oh, and those steaks they do). Today, they are now known for being the location of yet another tragic teenage shooting rampage. Our hearts go out to all of the people in Omaha, NE.

It's a sad day when some low life, poor, con artist decides to start stealing people's identities so he can buy flatscreens at BestBuy...It's an even sadder day when those "identity theives" are "A stylish young couple...the privileged children of well-to-do doctors" Yesterday's Post contained an article titled 'Con'-nie and Clod Lovebirds in 'Stolen ID Spree'.  Apparently Edward K. Anderton, a 25 year old graduate from Ivy League University of Pennsylvania and his girlfriend Jocelyn Kirsch, a 22 year old graduate of Drexel University, and daughter to a prominent plastic surgeon in Winston-Salem, NC joined forces to become the 21st century version of Bonnie and Clyde. 

Jocelyn said she planned on being an ambassador, and it is unclear where Edward was working, as he was fired this year from his job as an analyst with Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds.  Oh wait, that's right, he needed a more flexible job.  One that he could travel around the world smooching with his girlfriend and ordering champagne in private hot tubs, because THEN he would know he had made it.  So for the last year these two geniuses fucktards have been traveling all over the world alright...they just charged the tab to several of their neighbors and some good old fashioned strangers.  They were also stupid enough to document all of their trips with loads of photos.  Horseback riding on beaches in Hawaii, the Caribbean, New York, Paris, London, and Montreal.  The pair also bought expensive clothing and jewelery (and apparently hair extensions), scamming more than $100,000 through identity theft.  The police found dozens of bogus credit cards, phoney driver's licenses and keys to over 30 of their neighbor's apartments. 

"They are parasites" says Philly detective Terry Sweeney.  They were also not that sharp.  His ivy league degree in economics sure didn't do much...."They used simple off-the-self scams that anyone could find on the internet." said Sweeney.  Parasites indeed....but what do you think of Jocelyn in her swimsuit??

[Photos taken from the Post]

So, what does Christmas look like in the eyes of a gay designer going through his mid life crisis? Head down to the West Village Marc Jacob's store to find out. The designer has outfitted his staff in white tutus, and created a winter wonderland scene complete with an enormous paddleboat in the shape of a swan. Customers can sit in the giant swan, next to a toy soldier for a photo op. Photos are displayed for sale at TKE Productions. Well, one thing we do agree with racked on, he is indeed taking the non-denominational route.

No this isn't the name of a new hit single by Bright Eyes, it's how Jeffrey Jah described what his new joint venture, opening soon, will be based upon.

[Photo from NY Times]

Question: What do Butter, Life, Spa, Lotus, GSpa, Club USA, Bowery Bar, the Inn LW12, Palladium, and Tunnel have in common? (besides being THE place to be scene at one time or another in New York)?

Answer: They were all owned or operated by one of more of the four gentlemen that are about to change the face of nightlife in New York.

We have been anticipating the arrival of 1 Oak for quite some time now, however, when the Sunday Styles section of the New York times FINALLY took notice this last Sunday, in an article titled "You Bring Leo, I'll Bring Diddy", we knew we were on to something (fyi: they cited us in the article which we are pretty excited about). Jeffrey Jah, aka "the Veteran" has joined forces with the Butter Boys Scott Sartiano, "Mr. Finance", and Richie Akiva, "The Club Kid", as well as Ronnie Madra, "The Music Man"; all on the commonality of being down right SICK of the way things were going in clubland (amen to that!).

Though there have been many rough patches, 1 Oak will be opened this month....that is a direct promise, from Scott himself. But don't expect it to be anything like their neighbors down the road in meat packing. At just a 250 person capacity (with seating space of only 150), showing up with Mr. Bigshot Hedgefunder with hundee's in his pocket is apparently NOT going to have any bearing on whether or not you will cross that velvet rope. According to Jah,

"People will have to earn their way past the ropes with an appealing personal style or disposition...not a promise to pay for bottle service."

Sounds like they are trying to bring back the golden days of Spa and even Studio 54 where struggling artists, musicians, and trannys could all hang out safely and just know that they collectively made up the "cool kids" of the city. Sounds fantastic. But will it work?

This will be perhaps the toughest challenge anyone has ever faced regarding night life here...at least in this decade. Maybe it is possible? With four seasoned veterans on board, you know that these guys have their shit together, and their peeps. Leo and Diddy don't even begin to cover the extensive network these guys have amassed over the years. Madra may have said it best: "This is like our Field of Dreams. If we build it, they will come." Come they will. Getting people to the door will not be the challenge...sticking to their Velvet Egalitarianism policy will. With night spots earning over 10 billion dollars a year in revenue, this is an amazing idea (one that we think most of us have discussed at one time or another), but will it really be possible? Will it be possible for "The Quad", as we call them, to brush away the poorly clad wall streeter flashing bills in their face? Stay Tuned....

[Alex Goldberg at Peasant. Photo from NY Mag]

Ruff! Stanley here...so I wasn't going to post on this kid, but decided to anyway, so that world can see what giving unguarded freedom to a child will create (a monster).  In this week's New York Magazine, on newsstands today, there was an entire article devoted to Alex Goldberg...the "Mayor of Nolita", as his older sister calls him, that thinks he's hot shit.  This fatso has had "free reign" over the streets of nolita since before he can remember, establishing himself amongst shop owners, models, night club owners, rappers, actors, and athletes alike.  He's held jobs at Supreme on Lafayette, NikeID, and helped out at Peasant, DiPalo's, and Papabubble.  He's also only 14.  Many think he's like a man trapped in a child's body, but I'm not fooled.  I think he's just a shitty kid that doesn't want to listen to a single adult and that has idiot parents that like that their 14 year old can get them into Nobu.  This is one of the most pathetic profiles written by New York Magazine, so pathetic that you won't be able to stop reading it.

Alex goes to the James Taylor concert in the Hamptons this summer and is disinterested in who that even is, and would rather talk to an NBA player than Paul McCartney.  He makes fun of Dune, claiming that Bungalow 8 is much better anyway, and smokes fake fags on Lafayette.  Who the fuck does this kid think he is? First of all, me and my DAWGS have been running around Nolita much longer than this kid, who's claim-to-fame came after sneaking out to hang with wanna-be celebs at a party at the Delano in Miami last year.   His parents claim that they worry about him losing his childhood, yet they are so lenient with him that they fail to ground him for sneaking out.  No, instead they let him party with his newly made freinds (more than triple his age) for the rest of the vacation.  He calls them by their names (Rich and Robin) and frequently tells them to fuck off.  Sweet. Sounds like a gem to me.  If this child makes one dime off of my city or this magazine write up, I may have to take a bite out of his be-hind.  Until the day comes, I will be anticipating his "growing up"....because god knows this city is a tough bitch and chubby 14 year olds may be interesting to see hustling around town now, but in a couple years he will be a has-been with a coke addiction, a balding head, and 40 more pounds on his frame. Ruff!

With the unexpected departure of their managing editor Choire Sicha (the guy who helped shape the site into what it is from 2003-2005 before leaving for The Observer and then returning once again), and writer Emily Gould, Gawker is using this uncertain time of adjustment to market their "EVOLUTION". Here is what owner Nick Denton posted on the site this Friday:

"We normally like to have a successor lined up, in an orderly fashion, when one of our managing editors has an existential crisis. Oops. Awkward. Choire Sicha, who was in his second stint as Gawker's managing editor, is irreplaceable [though you'll still be able to read his columns here]. But at least this unwelcome gap at the top of Gawker allows us to do something we haven't before. We're casting a wide net for candidates, beyond the clubby world of bloggers. Because Gawker is becoming a larger and more complex operation, and, frankly, a more traditional one."

"It's no longer enough to take stories from the New York Times, and add a dash of snark. Gawker needs to break and develop more stories. And the new managing editor will need to hire and manage reporters, as well as bloggers. Gawker.com receives more than 10m pageviews per month. Think of Gawker less as a blog than as a full-blown news site. The right candidate will oversee Gawker's evolution."

Will Gawker be able to evolve into something even bigger? Or having filled the void it once set out to, will it devolve and die? While some seem to think this site is for "douche bag" editors, and the backlash has been in print for quite awhile, we doubt that Nick Denton will let his Gawker Dynasty (which includes 13 other sites) crumble. The site seems to be in full swing today, and apparently, the job applications have been pouring in. But on Portfolio today:

Nick Denton created a monster called Gawker. Now that monster is turning on him. Here's Emily Gould, one of three editors who quit the New York gossip site on Friday, in today's WWD: "Whatever Gawker originally set out to do, it kind of did, and now it just feels over. I would love it if it just fell off the face of the earth."

Ouch.

Mr. Denton seems confident he can turn this unexpected mess around, telling the Times today that:

“Choire’s departure as managing editor, and that of his blogger protégés, will obviously be a complete pain, But we’ve been through it before, three times, and this change of the guard does give us the opportunity to accelerate the transformation of Gawker from cute blog to fully-fledged news site.”

We aren't sure we want Gawker becoming a "fully-fledged news site". Don't we have Drudge, CNN, etc. etc. etc. for that? We liked Gawker because of the inappropriateness in many of their posts and witty commentary even if it was in the form of reader's comments. It will be interesting to see when the "new Gawker" unleashes itself on the blog sphere, and who will fill the "old Gawker's" void.