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Bernie Madoff

Books

The Private Book Collections of 10 Famous Readers

By Emily Temple on

Earlier this month, we stumbled across Carolyn Kellogg’s great article about Bernie Madoff’s book collection, parts of which are being sold slowly on eBay by the person who won Madoff’s books in an auction. Sure, the books someone has may not be as great an indicator of their personality as, er, some other things we know about them, but, nerds that we are, we tend to consider our libraries extensions of ourselves. So of course, we did a little digging, pouring through the collections of famous (or infamous) cultural icons and see what they were made of. After the jump, browse through our excerpts of the private libraries of everyone from Darwin to Houdini to Oprah, and draw your conclusions where you may. … Read More

Film

Ridley Scott Rolls the Dice with Mr. Monopoly

By Caitlin Brody on

Ridley Scott, the man behind the likes of Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Robin Hood, has officially ventured into new and, er… well-worn territory, with a take on Hasbro’s iconic Monopoly boardgame. Luckily, the mystery protagonist will not need to wear a top hat, mustache or spectacles — it will be a modern day dramedy, after all. Scott has cryptically said the film will focus on the role of greed in society: “The most amusing thing about Monopoly is it can turn your benign aunt or your benign sweet little grandmother into a monster,” Scott told Hasbro. And while we’re not convinced of the “Untitled Monopoly Project’s” merit, check out our casting predictions for the film after the jump. And no matter how ridiculous, feel free to share your own predictions in the comments… Read More

Design

Decorating with Bernie: Interior Design Tips from a Swindler

By Kelsey Keith on

The Associated Press has published a very specific report on the status of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff’s two estates, one in Manhattan and the other in Palm Beach, Florida. Barring Yan Pei-Ming’s 7-foot watercolor portrait of Mr. Madoff, which scared visitors away from the David Zwirner booth at the Armory Fair this spring, what in the world would old Bernie approve to decorate his lair? Actual reporting, plus our recommendations, after the… Read More

Books

Chick Lit Gone Recessionista

By Heather Schwedel on

In a piece on Double X today, Sarah Bilston eulogizes chick lit, arguing that the genre was an early-aughts lark, no longer compatible with America’s newly blighted economy. But is chick lit dead, or is it simply in need of a budget makeover? Bilston predicts: “In the next months and years, expect to see plots that turn on overcoming repossession and job-loss, not shopping and sex.” What of the books that built the foundation of Manolo’s, cupcakes and engagement rings on which chick lit stands? We decided to edit a few of the classics to better reflect our current financial… Read More

Web

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alexandra Wexler on

Today at Flavorpill, we bought our tickets to go see the new Johnny Depp movie, Public Enemies. We got super nervous over the proposed ban on Vicodin and Percocet. We wondered how much money Michael Jackson’s white glove is going to go for at auction. We thought mayors all over America should install these cool benches so that dog pee doesn’t keep killing all the urban trees. We discussed what Bernie Madoff could possibly have done with all that money. We were sad that we already bought our tickets for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, because now it’s being offered in IMAX (but only if you live in New York, LA, or Chicago), bummer! We were relieved to hear that rumors that Jeff Golblum died while filming in New Zealand are not true, and then we laughed when he went on The Colbert Report to confirm it himself. We got excited that Entouarge, Dirty Sexy Money, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta will all return to TV with new episodes this month! And finally, we wanted to buy a set of these awesome camera/goggles to take underwater pictures- now we just have to make on enough money to go on a scuba island… Read More

Web

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds at Our Office

By Alexandra Wexler on

Today at Flavorpill, we were sad to hear that Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer; ABC and NBC will broadcast dueling tributes. We decided that we would never, ever purchase these oddly erotic light fixtures. We were excited to find out that Tim Burton’s new Alice in Wonderland movie will actually be a sequel to the original! We were blown away by the design for this new museum that looks like it’s floating on a cloud — unfortunately Zaha Hadid’s “spaceship” library didn’t get the same reception in Seville. We got excited about this new John Travolta and Jonathon Rhys Meyers movie after seeing le poster here. And finally, we rolled our eyes at CBS and NBC’s fall line-ups — sorry folks, nothing much to get excited about… Read More

Web

Pic of the Day: Finally the Dakotas Have Something to Gloat About

By Caroline Stanley on

We guess this has been making the rounds for a while, but we’re just seeing it now (which probably reveals something about our financial savvy). You can search for Bernie Madoff’s victims and clients at madoffmap.com — we kid you not. Amazing.

Film

Pic of the Day: Spotted, Bernie Madoff Smiling in Williamsburg

By Caroline Stanley on


After a drunken brunch at Enid’s, we noticed this near the corner of Metropolitan and Union Avenue. Anyone know the street artist behind it?

Art

Did Bernie Madoff Sink the Rose Art Museum?

By Caroline Stanley on

The Daily Beast’s Judith H. Dobrzynski has the exclusive scoop on Brandeis University’s financial crisis, and in an surprising twist of events she’s pointing the finger at none other than Bernie Madoff — at least indirectly.

In case you haven’t been following this tragic story, the short version: Word leaked last week that the cash-strapped university was going to shutter the Rose Art Museum and sell off its entire collection — which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and contains pieces by Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Morris Louis, Matthew Barney, Cindy Sherman, and Richard Serra among others — to cover their budget shortfall. … Read More

Film

Five Things You Need to Know Now [Pop Culture Bites]

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Proof that all things Hollywood — even the Bernie Madoff scandal — can be connected to Kevin Bacon. This is because he is magical. [DB]

2. You can thank a bunch of exercise-happy tourists and 250 hours of feverish pedaling for the blazing 2009 sign in Times Square tonight. You can also… Read More