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Archive for July, 2008

31
Jul

Condé Nast Is Behind the Times

By Holly Won't 5 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Businesses, Environmentalists and Writers

An intrepid, possibly soon-to-be-axed reporter for Condé Nast Portfolio magazine let it slip that his employer empties their corporate recycling bins into a dumpster.

But that hasn’t stopped them from signing on to the Magazine Publishers of America’s campaign to get subscribers to recycle their old issues.

Jeff Bercovici on the Mixed Media blog writes:

At a certain major magazine publisher — because I work there, I won’t reveal its name other than to say it makes up the first two words in the name of my magazine — it’s an open secret that the ubiquitous blue recycling bins actually get emptied into the trash. I’m still waiting to hear back from a spokeswoman about just why it is this company, which is known for lavishing money on its top editors and executives in the form of clothing allowances and no-interest loans, and which always has a line of Town Cars idling outside its 43rd Street entrance, can’t seem to find a way to recycle the tons upon tons of paper it discards every year, as its two main competitors, Hearst and Time Inc., already do. And seeing as this company is a member of MPA, and thus a de facto sponsor of its “Please Recycle This Magazine” campaign, it would seem just a tad hypocritical not to address this matter in short order.

Truly, no snark here. It is really pathetic that in this day and age, they can’t figure out how to recycle paper.

31
Jul

What About Bob?

By Simon Scowl 38 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists, Bad Boys & Girls, Politicos, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

(Hi! If you’re new here and you’re looking for more information about the John Edwards story, I mean non-story, our entire non-coverage is here.)

A Deceiver reader — perhaps responding to my annoyingly smug statement in my previous “John & Rielle” post that I know how to use Google, unlike 99% of the journalists in the U.S. — points out that you can find more information about the mysterious Bob McGovern via… Google. D’oh!

If you’re just joining us, McGovern is the gentleman who last week allegedly rented two rooms at the Beverly Hilton (and served as a one-man shuttle service) as a favor to John Edwards, Rielle Hunter, the baby girl who Edwards says isn’t his, and the veritable legion of National Enquirer reporters waiting outside. McGovern is also listed on the “board of directors” of Being Is Free, Hunter’s once-deleted, now-resurrected website. And he may be the “Bob” who Hunter once described as her “savior, healer of all healers.”

Who is this guy?

I think we might be able to find out. If you go to the Google cache of MargaretSweet.com, which is the site for an astrologer named, aptly enough, Margaret Sweet (who’s also a friend of Hunter’s), there’s a page called “Helpful Dudes.” But despite the plural, apparently there’s only one dude who Margaret Sweet considers helpful:

Robert (Bob) McGovern - Healer

Bob McGovern is an intuitive who has worked as a healer since 1988. He works with energy in the area of the emotional fields. He uses philosophy, psychology and the intuitive to find resolutions that move people back into alignment with the universe and into a place of peace, harmony and joy.

Bob uses the intuitive to help people with a variety of life issues, including relationships, career and health. His knowledge of the past and the future helps people find balance in the present. He is able to separate out surrounding negative energy, which allows people to have a clearer perception of their own options and choices. He works to empower people so that they can respond to the challenges of daily life with greater discernment and fuller understanding.

That really does sound intuitive, doesn’t it?

The “Helpful Dudes” page also lists McGovern’s Santa Barbara phone number and mailing address, which are current as of June 12, but I don’t think it’s good netiquette to give out that sort of info in blog posts. Although if you’re, say, a newspaper reporter and you have a few free minutes in your busy day, maybe you could click this link, call the guy up, and ask if he’s the same Bob McGovern who’s in the middle of this non-scandal? And if so, maybe you could see if he cares to comment on the whole non-situation? Just throwing that out there; I’m not a journalist and I’m not really sure how you guys do what you do. Sorry if I’m overstepping my bounds.

(8/2 Update: According to the 7/31 McClatchy story on Frances Quinn Hunter’s fatherless birth certificate, the baby was born in Santa Barbara. And the Enquirer says McGovern and Hunter drove to the Beverly Hilton from Santa Barbara. Is that what they call a corroborating detail? Also, as of today, the Google cache of the “Helpful Dudes” page has been updated, and McGovern’s contact info is gone. Did you already save a copy to your hard drive? I did.)

Anyway. Strangely, if you go to the “Helpful Dudes” page now, all you see is this:

Continue reading ‘What About Bob?’

31
Jul

Kate Walsh Flew Private to a Sustainable Living Event

By Holly Won't 9 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Environmentalists and Television Stars

Gotta hand it to Us Weekly, this story almost passed us by.

In their July 28 issue, they compiled data on the average carbon footprint among celebrities. Surprise, surprise — even the most environmentally vocal celebs waste way more energy than their fans do. The average American uses 24 tons of CO2 per year. The average Hollywood star? 170.

Take Private Practice star Kate Walsh for example.

Forget for a moment that she’s the spokesperson for Cadillac. In June she attended the Lexus Style Villa Sports Power of h Gala, a star-studded golf tournament that promoted Lexus’s new line of hybrid SUVs (apparently not a contradiction in terms) and “sustainable living,” whatever that totally greenwashed term means.

And how did she get from her home in Los Angeles to San Diego for the event? By private jet, of course!

Let me reiterate this point, because it cannot be overstated. She flew 136 miles. In a PJ. To a party. That promoted a green luxury lifestyle.

*forehead meets keyboard*

31
Jul

A Deeper Look into the Mind of Rielle Hunter

By Simon Scowl 27 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists, Bad Boys & Girls, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

(NOTE: As of 8/2, the web page I describe in this post is gone, replaced by a “Blocked Site Error” page. Who blocked it? That’s a very good question.)

Yesterday I told you about the mysterious reappearance of Rielle Hunter’s web site, Being Is Free (the sudden disappearance of which last year helped start this whole controversy over whether John Edwards has an illegitimate kid). Since then, I’ve been surfing through that site so you don’t have to. There’s a whole lot of Eastern mysticism and spiritual enlightenment to be found in its pages, not to mention a deep, rich vein of unintentional humor.

There are over a dozen different pages on the site, and I get the feeling that each one is going to deserve special attention. So I’ll examine it in sections, for both your sake and mine. I’ll look at one of the columns of links on her home page per entry, picking out any interesting quotes and trying to tie them together with some of the new info we’ve been getting over the past week or so.

So let’s kick things off with what seems to be the big question on a lot of people’s minds when it comes to Rielle Hunter: Who Is She?

Continue reading ‘A Deeper Look into the Mind of Rielle Hunter’

30
Jul

Heather Mills’s Rep Confirms Abuse Tapes Were Imaginary

By Holly Won't 18 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, Legal Messes and Musicians

Michele Elyzabeth, who was Heather Mills’s press rep for four years before she had enough, confirmed to Access Hollywood that her client never really had those video tapes of Paul McCartney being abusive toward her.

She told US news show Access Hollywood: “I really don’t believe she did (have the video).

“I was close enough and I heard a couple of conversations. Now that I know what I know, I don’t really think that Paul really went after her for anything.

“She had basically nothing - she had tapes of her being in the studio with him, her being on the road with him, private moments.

“She told me a bunch of stuff… (but) I don’t see him being a violent person.”

In case you didn’t follow the divorce mess too closely, Mills once claimed she had ten tapes that showed Sir Paul behaving badly, including one situation where he called her a “one-legged bitch.” (No comment.)

She threatened to show the sensational evidence to the court but mysteriously never did.

Now we know why.

30
Jul

Wanna See Rielle Hunter’s Old Site?

By Simon Scowl 27 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

(Note: As of 8/2, the site I discuss in this post has been replaced with a page that simply says “Blocked Site Error.” As for who’s blocking it, we can only guess.)

Looks like there are two Americas: the America where not-John-Edwards’-babymama Rielle Hunter has erased her web site from existence, and the America where someone else has put it right back up.*

I haven’t started exploring it yet, but in light of current alleged events, the main page alone is a gold mine. Is there any unintended irony to be found in any of those link headers? Hmmmm, could be:

  • Who Am I?: We’re finding out more about this every day, despite her efforts to cover her tracks.
  • Kids on board: So we’ve heard.
  • Tell the Truth: Heh.
  • Tools that rule: Well, Edwards wanted to…
  • Love Everyone: Sounds like over the years she’s given this one her very best shot.
  • Need more than a hug?: Apparently!
  • Gold givers ananda: I don’t know what this means, unless she misspelled “diggers.”
  • What’s up with the cash?: What is up with it indeed.

(Hat tip: Deceiver reader Kris)

Update: In the comments, Caligrrl has dug up a great quote from the Shift Happens section of the site, which appears to be Hunter’s blog:

“I’ve come to realize through a lot of experience that men are in fact good for a couple of things. Three things to be specific. Penetration, moving heavy objects and causing enlightenment.”

So maybe John was just up in that hotel room for 5 hours helping Rielle rearrange the furniture so they could sit on the floor and meditate?

This just in: Lee Stranahan, who braved the mob at HuffPo the other day to explain why this is a news story even if you wish it weren’t, does the same at the Daily Kos. He uses logic and reason on them (with, if you read the comments, sadly predictable results).

Others babbling about this total yawner of a story today: Gawker, Dipdive, Sklar at HuffPo, Radar Online, Bloggasm, Kaus (naturally), The Week, LAist, DBKP, Roger L. Simon, Anorak, Blog P.I., Wired, Mercury News, Conan O’Brien, and Jay Leno. And if you want to stay on top of our babbling about it, just bookmark this.

Next-day update: I take a closer look at Rielle’s site, AKA Being Is Free (But a Girl’s Gotta Pay the Rent), here.

*I’m not going to apologize for digging into this story, but I do apologize for yet another hacky “Two Americas” joke.

30
Jul

Perpetually Tan, Smoking Jen Aniston Joins Cancer Drive

By Holly Won't 21 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists, Movie Stars and Television Stars

Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, and Jennifer Aniston have attached their names to the televised Stand Up to Cancer fundraising drive, to be held on September 5. The telethon will raise money for cancer research and treatment.

Jen Aniston may not have been the wisest celebrity to represent a cancer charity, though. In additional to always having the perfect tan, she was one of the most notorious smokers in Hollywood before attempting to quit last year.

Unfortunately, the quitting effort hasn’t seemed to stick. People magazine reported in June:

Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, looking “besotted with one another” while enjoying a late-night rendezvous with friends – including actor Billy Crudup – at the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood, a source tells us. Nestled at an outside courtyard table, the two sat close as Mayer talked feverishly with the group and Aniston indulged in one cigarette after another.

And of course there were those billion photos of her sunbathing in Miami this spring.

I suppose you can indulge in cancer-causing hobbies and still support cancer research (it just might benefit you some day), but maybe she should pick a cause she can actually adhere to.

29
Jul

Shia LaBeouf Update: Not at Fault, Despite Being Drunk as Shiz

By Holly Won't 19 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, Legal Messes and Movie Stars

Police announced today that actor Shia LaBeouf was not at fault in the car accident that put him in the hospital and then the clink. The other driver reportedly ran a red light, turning LaBeouf’s car over onto its roof.

Of course, he was still wasted, so that charge hasn’t been dropped.

He also has the cover story for Details magazine’s September issue. In the interview he completed weeks ago, he eerily had this to say about his Walgreens arrest last year:

And the glee with which the mainstream news media, itching for a YOUNG ACTOR FLAMES OUT headline, seized on it led to the end of one of his and his father’s longtime bonding rituals. “We would drink together and smoke together,” LaBeouf says, “and it’s just a bad deal. It’s not something that is conducive to being a role model—no iconic actors that I know of have problems like that. And I don’t know how to do it like a gentleman. I don’t know how to have one drink.”

Yeah, we know.

Intriguingly, being a role model often seems to be on LaBeouf’s agenda:

Back in June, at the premiere of “Surf’s Up,” LaBeouf said he avoided the kinds of troubles other young stars have fallen into by dedicating himself to his work.

“Work is important to me and I treat it important and it’s been good to me,” LaBeouf previously told Access [Hollywood]. “It’s like one of the best relationships I’ve had with anything. It’s been really good to my family so you gotta be good to it. Perception sometimes is more important than performance. If people perceive you as a good actor then they’ll wish for you to be a good actor and they’ll root for you when they watch you but if you come out and you’re going to clubs every night and people don’t root for you anymore.”

He’s not particularly good at it, but at least he’s aware that he’s supposed to behave himself.

29
Jul

More Non-Newsworthy Rielle Hunter/John Edwards Goodness

By Simon Scowl 5 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

Lee Stranahan — author of the #1 most popular story at the Huffington Post right now — has a correction to yesterday’s Deceiver post about the Rielle & Johnny non-scandal scandal. I described Andrew Young, the alleged father of Rielle Hunter’s baby, merely as “an Edwards employee.” But apparently the working relationship was closer than that.

According to Snopes, during the 2004 presidential race, Edwards was involved in a dispute with his neighbors in Raleigh, NC because news crews were damaging their lawns and generally making a nuisance of themselves. (Hey, maybe the news folks are trying to make up for that now by leaving him alone!) In response to this, an essay purporting to be from one of his neighbors, Brian T. Nicholson, detailed Edwards’ various other supposed transgressions, including his tactics as a medical malpractice lawyer, his tax practices, his Senate voting record, his coldness toward his neighbors, and his habit of flipping off passing cars on his morning jogs.

After the essay made its way around the Web, Nicholson said he didn’t write all that. He claimed the piece started off as an e-mail he sent to family and friends, and someone else ended up embellishing it and putting it up on the Internet. Whoever wrote it certainly wasn’t a fan of John Edwards. (The whole essay is at Snopes.)

The Raleigh News & Observer interviewed his neighbors and couldn’t find anybody to back up the essay’s claims of Edwards being a crappy neighbor or a bird-flipper. And according to Snopes again — I really am getting to the point here, honest — contrary to the picture the essay painted of Edwards as a heedless lawn-demolisher, he sent out this note (emphasis mine):

Dear Friends & Neighbors:

As you know, 2003 has gotten off to an exciting start for our family. In light of our recent decision, we know that many of you may also be feeling the effects. We want to apologize for any inconvenience you and your family may have experienced.

Please call our assistant, Andrew Young… if you have any lawn damage from the media traffic. Our personal lawn maintenance company will make any necessary repairs. Thank you for your patience.

Assistant Andrew Young.

So: Young, who was Edwards’ assistant from at least the summer of ‘04 up until about a month before Rielle Hunter moved down to North Carolina in the fall of ‘07, is the father of her baby. And he paid for her mansion in his own gated community, the BMW she was driving, and her medical bills, all out of his own pocket. Oh, and he had Hunter over for dinner with his wife and kids. (Er, his other kids.) These are all things that a family man did for his visibly pregnant mistress.

Could it be that Young was doing all this to… in some way… assist John Edwards? Does Young handle damaged careers as well as damaged lawns? Would it be worth his time, effort, and reputation to take the hit and do a really huge favor for a guy who might be in the White House someday?

It would be irresponsible to speculate without further evidence, apparently.

(Hat tip: Lee Stranahan)

Continue reading ‘More Non-Newsworthy Rielle Hunter/John Edwards Goodness’

29
Jul

The Sierra Club Leads By Example, Kinda

By The Oversneer 7 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists and Environmentalists

This from the Washington Business Journal:

The greenest of green organizations, the Sierra Club, is buying an office condominium in NoMa [north of Massachusetts Avenue, in DC]. But it won’t be joining in the green building craze — or at least it won’t be seeking the imprimatur of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification.

The Sierra Club is under contract to buy three floors — 28,000 square feet — of J Street Development’s office condominium project at 111 K St. NE in the neighborhood north of Massachusetts Avenue.

The nonprofit’s build-out will have green and energy-efficient elements, but the space will not be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The building itself will not be certified either.

The Sierra Club declined to comment on the decision to forgo review and certification under the LEED program.

Just two months ago, the Sierra Club’s flagship outfit in California was nagging the state’s Building Standards Commission to strengthen “green building” rules. The club’s Ventana chapter (in Santa Cruz County, California) openly promotes the LEED standard. The same goes for the Sierra Club in Montgomery County, Maryland.

But when the Mother Ship wanted a new office building, all bets were off. Oh, well — at least they’ll be close to Washington’s big, filthy trainyard. How long do you suppose it’ll be before they have Amtrak converted to hybrid locomotives?

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