Happy Halloween!

Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon

Kim Kardashian

Lance Bass

The Today Show Crew

Lydia Hearst Shaw

Sam and Lindsay Take The Subway

Spotted: Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan at an NYC Spring Street subway station. Who knew they rode public transportation?! That's actually pretty cool : )

Introducing Zuma

Gwen Stefani took new baby Zuma out for his first public appearance! Spotted in Beverly Hills, the two were going to the library. How cute is he?!

Japan Beautiful Actress: Yada Akiko

Thanks for support, for more detail and photos about Yada Akiko. Please visit our new website. Please click here: http://asianhotbeauty.com

Quote of the Day

"He's a bit of whore this year" - Chase Crawford on his Gossip Girl character Nate Archibald.

MK & A Launch Influence

Today fashionista style icons, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen launched their coffee table book Influence. They celebrated by holding a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Union Square, NYC. The book features their own interviews with respected artists and designers who have influenced them throughout the past 10 years including Christian Louboutin, Karl Lagerfeld and Lauren Hutton. There are great photos, personal touches and if you love fashion and MK & A, you'll more than appreciate this work of art!

Tragedy Strikes Jennifer Hudson

Friday afternoon, the mother and brother of Oscar-winner/songstress Jennifer Hudson were both fatally shot in Chicago and her 7-year-old nephew Julian went missing. In custody is William Balfour (sister Julia's estranged husband), stepdad to little Julian. No charges have been filed as of yet.

Hudson left a message for her fans on her MySpace page this weekend:

"Thank you all for your prayers and your calls … Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely. If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please contact the authorities immediately. Here is a picture of Julian and what he was last seen wearing. Once again thank you all for being there for us through this tough time."

Update: Sadly, this morning, Julian's body was found in the rear seat of the SUV investigators had been searching for.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jennifer and her family during this most horrific time.

Korea Beautiful Actress: Han Ga-in

Thanks for support, for more detail and photos about Han Ga-in 韩佳人. Please visit our new website. Please click here: http://asianhotbeauty.com

Thai Sexy Actress: Tata Young

Tata Young is a Thai singer, model and actress. After becoming a Thai superstar in her early teens, she became an international success with the release of her first English-language album I Believe in 2004. She remains one of the most popular performers in Thailand, and is a perennial "favorite" pick by magazines and music-video channels. She started singing and dancing at an early age. At age 11, Tata surpassed 5,300 other children to be crowned winner of the international division of the nationwide Thailand Junior Singing Contest with her performance of One Night Only. At the age of 15, Tata became the biggest pop sensation in Thailand. Tata's Eurasian background helped her cross over from the Thai music charts to perform abroad. Recently, she was also signed by the Los Angeles-based agency, McGhee Entertainment, which has managed such artists as Bon Jovi, Tee Jaconson, Liz Phair and Diana Ross. Tata has also developed a modeling and acting career. Young has been working on her junior studio English album for quite a while since the beginnings of '08 in Berlin, Germany. The records have unofficialy announced including 15 tracks, and most of them will be the pop-dance beats, similar to her previous records.

Profile

Name: Tata Young
Birth name: Amita Marie Young
Thai name: อมิตา มารี ยัง
Date of birth: December 14, 1980
Place of birth: Bangkok, Thailand
Hair: Dark Brown
Ethnicity: Half Thai Half American
Occupation: Singer, Actress, Model, Entrepreneur

Tata Young- Sexy,Naughty,Bitchy

On The Red-Carpet at Gabrielle's Gala

Wednesday night the Empire State Building was lit purple and red and downtown, NYC’s famed Cipriani Wall Street was abuzz for The 2008 Gabrielle’s Gala hosted by songwriter Denise Rich and her daughters in memory of Gabrielle, her daughter who died of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) at the age of 27. Created in 1996 because of Gabrielle’s own wish for a foundation to help spare others the suffering she endured, Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research is one of the largest non-governmental sources of grant support to blood cancer researchers at the nation’s leading institutions. With performances by Patti LaBelle (who sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) and Gladys Knight, along with the help of a live auction, (items included tickets to the 2009 Academy Awards, jewelry from Lorraine Schwartz, a walk on role in ABC’s Desperate Housewives, and a luxury trip to London and Paris) last night’s event raised over $1.6 million! From SATC’s Evan Handler’s own personal battle with the disease and Christina Milian’s cute shout-out to newly married Nick Cannon, to Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin’s upcoming cameo on Gossip Girl, take a look at what the stars on the red-carpet had to say as they came out to support such a good cause.

Denise Rich

Who are you wearing tonight? "Valentino and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry."
Talk about tonight and your friendship with Patti LaBelle? "I’m so excited! And Gladys Knight is performing and also Patti LaBelle. Gladys is a good friend and Patti is a sister. I love them both so much. I feel so honored that they came out for me tonight. It’s really special."

Alan Cumming

What brings you out tonight? "Well, I’m a friend of Denise’s and I want to support her and I love the way this awful thing happened to her and she’s made it into a very positive, helpful thing for the world. She’s a really great lady."
Upcoming projects? "The Tempest with Helen Mirren in Hawaii. I’ve never been to Hawaii. I’ve never been to Helen either" (Laughs).
What celebrity would make a good president? I think Susan Sarandon would be great because she’s very fair and has a great grasp of politics. And she’s sexy. "

Nastia Liukin

We hear that you’re going to be appearing on Gossip Girl? "I shot the scene yesterday so I got to meet Leighton and Ed, nicest people ever, it was so much fun and I got to know them and take a few pictures and the scene is with them. It’s a really short scene, but it was an honor to be asked to do it and I’m really excited to see it."
What about more acting in the future? "Maybe, I would love to do a little bit more, so we’ll see."

Donald Trump Jr. and wife Vanessa

Donald Trump Jr. spoke about the new baby on the way as well as the new season of Celebrity Apprentice.
Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl? "We don’t. We’re leaving it a surprise. It drove me crazy the first time. I really wanted a boy, ended up with a girl, and she’s so cool now. If I had all girls it wouldn’t be an issue. Also now I’m just totally indifferent, as long as it’s healthy."
Has your dad ever given you any parenting advice? "I’ll take advice from my father on a lot of things, that’s probably not one of them. He’s great at business! That’s where I keep my relationship. Anything business, I’ll ask him. Relationship, baby stuff, I’ll go to other sources or I’ll figure it out on my own."
How’s Celebrity Apprentice doing? "It’s been great. Really great guys, it’s going to be a lot of fun. You’ll see some interesting antics in the boardroom."

Donnie Klang

How do you feel about Aubrey O’Day and D. Woods being kicked out of Danity Kane? "Well, no matter what’s happening, me and Aubrey are kind of not talking right now, we had a big fight. But at the end of the day, they’re my sisters and I feel horrible that that’s what this has come to and I think Danity Kane still has what it takes to work it out, but it would take a lot of work at this point."
How is your album doing? "It’s slow right now, but it’s picking up, but I’m kind of glad it’s slow because it didn’t let me settle into the music industry, it keeps me working hard, it keeps me still feeling like I’m working towards something. I’m working on album # 2 already. So hopefully I’ll get to write more on this. I might start letting stuff leak to let it go and just, like keep a buzz going for the next album."

Evan Handler

What do you have upcoming? "I’m about to head off to a 25-city tour. I’m hitting 18 cities in 22 days coming up. I’ll be speaking about the issues of the book [It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, dealing with being diagnosed at 24 with the incurable disease] and reading from it and telling naked Sex and the City stories."
Is there going to be a sequel? "I have no idea. That’s all anybody asks me about now and I’m the last to know."
What can we except to see in Californication this season? "Well, four episodes have already aired so far. You’ve already seen Charlie Runkle get into loads of trouble...And the rest of the season features pretty prominently the almost absolute destruction of the Runkle family empire. It’s all downhill for Charlie."
How is David Duchovny? "I haven’t seen or spoken to David since the last day of work (way before everything hit the press). In season 1, I thought it’d be nice if I had a closer, more personal relationship with David and now simply because of all the uproar and all of the questions I get asked, I’m happy that I can say that I have no personal relationship or knowledge of his personal life. We have a great working relationship and I love the guy, but I haven’t got a tidbit to give anybody. I hear he’s doing great."

The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson

A little tidbit about the Duchess – Her favorite assets are her legs, red hair, blue eyes and her good heart.

Christina Milian

As the red-carpet came to a close, Christina Milian ran into Cipriani due to the bitter wind, but when asked about ex Nick Cannon’s recent nuptials, the cutie songstress yelled out with a smile, “Congratulations to him!”

- Erin Dustin

Hong Kong Sexy Actress: Karen Mok Man Wai

Thanks for support, for more detail and photos about Karen Mok Man Wai 莫文蔚. Please visit our new website. Please click here: http://asianhotbeauty.com

A Hills Reunion!

LC and Heidi have reconciled! Yes we said it! Montag and bf Spencer were seen at STK where Lauren happened to be celebrating her recent runway show during L.A.'s Fashion Week with friends and family. Heidi apparently congratulated her on her new collection and the two smiled and HUGGED!

The Material Girl And The Director Are No More

Perhaps you saw it coming but it's finally official- Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have confirmed they are divorcing after seven and a half years of marriage.

Earlier this summer, when rumors were rampant about Madonna's involvement with the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez and word had it she'd hired Paul McCartney's divorce lawyer, Madonna dismissed any claims of unhappiness.

"My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce," she said.

Justin Timberlake Takes A Swing At Childhood Illness

Justin Timberlake continues to solidify his good guy image with his latest foray into charitable do-gooder territory. He hit Sin City on Monday but it was for an angelic cause. Timberlake took to the links for the first day of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

The tournament ends Sunday but not before Timberlake joins Rihanna, The Jonas Brothers, Adam Levine, and others for a charity concert on Friday. Proceeds will benefit an international health care system that provides specialty pediatric care.

Timberlake, who started playing the sport about 5 years ago, says he looks forward to melding two of his favorite things.

"The partnership with the Shriners came about when I was trying to get involved with the PGA TOUR because I'm such a fan," Timberlake said. "And the Vegas spot seemed like a good fit for me and for celebrities alike, and it was already a Pro-Am, so we tacked onto that and obviously in the process we got involved with the Shriners, who is the beneficiary of the tournament. And so it's great."

But he says he's still coming to grips with his name bolstering the event.

"I don't think it's really hit me yet," he said. "I sort of had a glimpse of it when I saw the first logo on one of the flags...I was kind of like, 'Wow, this is really happening.' It's kind of been a small dream of mine to host an event. The first time I ever played a Pro-Am in golf was at the Bob Hope in the desert. I had a great time. I thought to myself, it would be amazing if one day I could be able to, A, host an amazing event and, B, raise some money for charity. The Shriners Hospital, obviously we're going to do some great things for them in raising money with this week coming up in October. So I'm excited. I'm really, really excited about it."

Angelina Squelches Despair/Breakup Rumors

In an interview with Hello! magazine, Angelina Jolie has quieted the bubbling rumors that she has suffered from a bout of post-partum depression and is having problems with her relationship with Brad Pitt. On the contrary, life sounds rosy for Brangelina and brood.

"We have fun, we have each other, and we have a lot of love in our life," she said. "And anybody who has love in their life has something that is much more important than anything else."

After establishing that her life is generally flawless, she spoke about her ever-growing family.

"It's a big, loud, busy family," Jolie said. "They're all great travellers, too, and I think partly because there are so many of them, they're able to make themselves at home anywhere. They can just go into an empty room, take it over, and make it their home, which is a wonderful gift."

Top Model Goes Off-Catwalk With New Spinoff

America's Next Top Model's Jay Manuel and "Miss J." Alexander are set to sashay into their own CW show called Operation Fabulous, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The photo shoot director and judge/runway expert will pair up for the makeover show, which will follow them as they travel around the U.S. giving five lucky women hair, makeup, and fashion overhauls. The pair has been involved with ANTM since its debut in 2003.

Sean Connery Shakes Up Louis Vuitton

It seems famed photog Annie Leibovitz can lure just about any celeb with her lens.

The original James Bond once said he'll never appear in another film but he stepped in front of the camera for the latest installation of the Louis Vuitton "Core Values" ad campaign. The 78-year-old icon posed on a dock in the Bahamas sporting casual duds and a Bermuda hat, and lounging beside a waterproof L.V. Keepall bag. The photo was shot near Connery's Bahamas residence. Not bad.

He looks pretty damned good, too. And apparently, the image was the result of a test shoot so Connery hadn't even hit the hair and makeup chair.

The "Core Values" campaign has featured other legendary figures like Keith Richards, Catherine Deneuve, and Francis Ford Coppola. The new ad is set to hit publications later this month.

(Image: Annie Leibovitz for Louis Vuitton via WWD)

Nicole Richie Gushes About Baby Harlow

Nicole Richie, who appears on the cover of this week's People magazine with daughter Harlow, couldn't help but gush about her 9-month-old.

"Harlow's a delicate soul," Richie said. "She studies people. She's very coy. People say that she and I make the same expressions. But everyone says she looks like Joel."

"I'm cool with it," said Madden, calling Nicole the best mom he's ever seen. "As long as she doesn't look like me in a wig when she's 16."

The couple, fresh off the road with a Good Charlotte tour, have just moved into a new home in L.A. and are in the throes of planning an October 19 walk to help end family homelessness.

Travis Barker Speaks About Plane Crash

In an interview with Us Weekly, Travis Barker (shown above just hours before the accident) opened up about surviving the Sept. 19 plane crash that killed four, including one of his good friends. Following his release from a Georgia hospital last week, Barker is being treated at a Los Angeles burn center.

"I hate planes," Barker told Us Weekly. "My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so when that happened…well, I’m just thankful to be alive! I’m just grateful to be here at all."

"I am doing the best I can possibly be," he said. "I’m so anxious to get out of here. I’ve just been in surgery after surgery. I have third-degree burns basically from my feet up to my waist and both hands. One of my hands has second-degree burns and one has third-degree burns."

"I’m trying to have a quick recovery and play the drums again and be able to hold my kids again."

Also In Town...

Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson joined their friend Ne-Yo at the Hennessy artistry MIAMI concert to watch him perform Saturday night.

A little gossip from the evening -

Seacrest and Jackson only posed for pics inside, but refused to stand in front of the Hennessy artist backdrop outside. Jackson kept his loyalty saying, "Only Coca-Cola dog!"

Ne-Yo (who performed) along with Fat Joe, settled a long-standing beef with their security guards standing close by. No worries though, they hugged at the end.

At the end of Fat Joe's performance he turned to politics saying, "Straight Obama if you're voting for Obama make some noise! John McCain is so old, he can’t do this!" Following his remarks - a performance of "Lean Back."

Photo Credit: Seth Browarnik/Red Eye Productions

Kim Turns Tears Into Cheers

Although recently eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, Kim Kardashian looked as happy as ever as she and boyfriend Reggie Bush stayed close at the Hennessy artistry MIAMI concert Saturday night. In town to watch Bush and his Saints play, the two arrived in a white Range Rover and drank Hennessy mojitos throughout the night, although Bush chose to drink only one because of his game the following day. Smart choice.

Photo Credit: Erika Goldring/Retna Images

Anne Joins Alice

Anne Hathaway will join Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. She'll play the White Queen, sister to Bonham Carter's Red Queen. The 3D live action/animated release is set to fall into theaters in 2010.

Angelina Back In Spotlight At Changeling Premiere

To follow up on Erin's post below, Angie did indeed turn up for the Changeling premiere looking disgustingly gorgeous and with some fresh ink, to boot. Never mind that she just had two kids. Unfairness at its finest.

Jay-Z's Top Props

Jay-Z was awarded with the United Nations Global Leadership Award on Wednesday in New York for his efforts with the Water For Life program, which works to bring clean water to Africa. Apparently, wife Beyonce was a no-show but it's pretty cool just the same.

New Rope (No Money Needed)

Here's my proactive suggestion to presses, reviewers, and magazines in response to NetGalley's $400 per title idea.

Let's get Devin Emke to adapt his Submissions Manager for galley submission purposes. Magazines would be able to use it for reviews, just as journals now use it for submissions. This would help everyone out (presses, reviewers, magazines) without ending up adding several thousand dollars to the operating budget of presses - money that, if it exists, could be spent on promotion and/or publishing more works.

We can and need to reduce costs and save trees by having more electronic galleys; we can also make galleys more accessible to reviewers by going to an electronic model which would allow them to access the galley anywhere, any time.

However, and it's a big however, there is simply no need for it to cost $400 a title; Rosetta, who are behind NetGalley, would be making money off presses for doing very little themselves.

It seems crucial to me that we don't as an independent publishing community divert our money into the profit margins of corporations. We can do this in better ways.

Money for Old Rope: NetGalley (ADDED TO)

It's not my fashion to give credence or space to something that I believe is bad for poetry. Why draw attention to such a thing? However, I'm breaking that guideline over NetGalley, an organization which "provides centralized galley and digital press kit services, as well as a place to connect and collaborate with others in the industry." NetGalley has just partnered with Foreword Magazine, which is meant to be in support of the "independently published."

My problem is this: NetGalley charges $400 per title to assist publishers in making their galleys/Advance Reader Copies available online, and to provide electronic notification to publishers on decisions reviewers have taken with their galleys.

As someone who has worked with small presses for several years now to help secure review attention, I have tried to encourage electronic galleys. It costs nothing for a press to prepare an electronic galley. Not $400, nothing.

At a time when review attention and space is decreasing, NetGalley preys on publisher anxiety about review coverage. Net Galley imposes (or, at best, invites) a charge of $400 dollars in order for publishers to do EXACTLY WHAT THEY DO NOW. Under the guise of helping the environment and saving trees, NetGalley takes money from underfunded independent publishers. If the big fiction houses want to do this, great, let them splurge. But when "independent" magazines like ForeWord sign up, poets and poetry presses suffers.

So here's what I propose.

Please join me in this. Please don't acquiesce. Link widely to this post. Write to ForeWord to suggest they rethink, that if they're that keen on electronic submissions, they could facilitate it without NetGalley and without making small presses pay thousands of dollars. We all would love to see less paper galleys in the world, since most of them end up in the recycling bin or, worse, the garbage. NetGalley isn't the way to do it, and encouraging it certainly isn't.

In the interests of discussion, if you're a reviewer, a publisher, a magazine, and you feel I'm missing something about NetGalley, let me know. (EDIT: See Gabe's comment for a less indy press-centric reading of this!) As a publicist, as a writer, as a reader, I feel that this is a corporate entity which doesn't care about or care for words, language, literature. Unlike such wonderful groups as Small Press Distribution, which has really embraced the web, NetGalley is an anonymous organization. I can't find any reason to support them, and I find every reason to propose alternatives that are good for publishing and for writing about books.

ADDITION:

I want to make it clear that ForeWord and other magazines are NOT moving to a NetGalley only system. So publishers who are reading this: you won't lose out if you opt not to go with NetGalley.

That said, my aim stands: I'd love to see ForeWord and others adopt another, non-expensive electronic organizational model, as journals have with Submissions Manager. So I'll keep this issue alive in the hopes of achieving that.

ForeWord, by the way, apparently encourages (non NetGalley) electronic submissions and has been doing so for over a year. This is news to me, news I'm happy to hear, and hopeful that they'll make more prominent on their submissions guidelines in the interests of serving independent presses.

Jessica Alba's New Ad for Declare Yourself

Jessica Alba declares herself in a shocking new ad for Declare Yourself, the campaign devoted to getting people to vote.

The Jolie-Pitts Have Arrived

Brad and Angelina are in the Big Apple! Arriving just this morning, Angie is in town to walk the red-carpet at the premiere of her film The Changeling. So, very important, we need sightings! Anything, let us know ASAP!

- Erin Dustin

Translation, Iceland, the Sugarcubes: In Conversation with Bragi Olafsson

Here's where'll I'll be and what up to next Tuesday: can't wait! It's being organized by Bragi's publishers, Open Letter at University of Rochester. I'll report back next week - but if you're around the area, or totally in love with a) Iceland or b) the Sugarcubes or c) Translation or d) books with protagonists who spend the entire time under a bed, then come travel to it!

Author Bragi Olafsson, former bassist of the popular Icelandic rock band the Sugarcubes, will discuss literature and writing with translator Lytton Smith on Tuesday, October 7, at 6 p.m. in the Hawkins-Carlson Room. His novel, The Pets (Open Letter, 2008), which features a protagonist who hides under his bed for almost the entire book, was nominated for the Icelandic Literature Prize and is the first of his books to be translated into English.

Open Letter is offering $65 subscriptions for which amount you get 6, count 'em, 6 works in translation by authors from Margeurite Duras to Ruben Fonseca. $120 for 12! And looking at those beautiful, pop-art covers, I think it's worth $65 just for the covers.