Exclusive Comics Excerpt: ‘The Arrival’Today on the Comics Page, we’re proud to present an excerpt from The Arrival, a beautiful and strange graphic novel by Shaun Tan, out next week from Scholastic.
The Launch
A Trip to Tailor, Camera in Hand
Having documented nearly every stage of Tailor’s much-delayed development, we couldn’t very well pass up experiencing its promised joys. We attended last night’s soft opening, camera in one hand and Eben Freeman cocktail in the other. The official opening is tonight and more photos are after the jump.
The Sex-Obsessed Party With Todd Thomas and Debbie HarryDesigner Todd Thomas decorated his modest, twenty-piece show on the crowded rooftop of 60 Thompson last night with huge prints of Gestalt tests reshaped into kimonos, Rorschach ink blots made into belts, and big No. 2 pencil dresses.
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Fred Thompson Wants You to Think He Doesn’t Want It
Tonight, coyer-than-thou Fred Dalton Thompson finally steps into the Republican race with ads on the always-friendly Fox News, a Leno appearance, a Webcast going live at midnight, and then a multi-state fly-around where he might actually talk with real people.
At the moment, it’s unclear whether Thompson is the new Ronald Reagan or another Chauncey Gardner. He was right about one thing: He skipped the first half of Republican Death March to ‘08, and it so did not matter. Thompson didn’t pay hard cash to grassroots get-a-lifers communing with the same seventeen Ames, Iowa, activists. There were no clandestine meetings with the South Carolina black ops guys who did in McCain back in 2000. Instead, Thompson smoked cigars at his Virginia home, played with his kids, and watched the field self-implode.
Bloomberg Water Muddied by Mansion, MomThe fun thing about possible presidential candidates, as opposed to merely undeclared ones, is that everything they do has two parallel explanations. Take our own billionaire mayor, who’s now inviting scrutiny with things as trivial as a mere mansion purchase. Bloomberg, the Observer reports, has picked up 1014 Madison Avenue, which houses a historic gallery, for $40 million. Since he also owns the adjacent 25 East 78th and can now connect the two buildings as long as he doesn’t futz with the landmark façades, this places Bloomie well on his way to carving a 32,000-square-foot compound out of the hood (oh yeah, he also owns a townhouse one block up). Does the purchase, gallery and all, mean the mayor’s about to settle into comfy retirement filled with charity balls and such? Or is he building the most awesome campaign HQ ever?
NewsFeed
Neighbors Aren’t Feeling Sting and Bowie’s Burlesque ClubIn a bit of dog-bites-man news, it seems certain neighbors aren’t digging the idea of Forty Deuce, the burlesque club that’s due to replace Little Charlie’s Clam Bar at 19 Kenmare Street. Screams this flyer we found on Grand and Mott today: “OUR LITTLE ITALY / CHINATOWN / BOWERY / NOLITA COMMUNITY IS NOT GOING TO BE THE NEW ‘TIMES SQUARE’ FOR UPSCALE TRENDY LATE-NIGHT PARTY-GOERS.” Are these the same citizens-on-patrol who are trying to get the Box closed because it wasn’t the “cultural institution” it promised to be? We advise them to tune in here, because we hear something big — bigger even than Double Happiness’ upscale trendy makeover, maybe — is coming to the LitItChiBoNo neighborhood soon.
Earlier: Bowie’s Burlesque Club to Give the Box a Run for Its Money
Double Happiness to Get $1 Million Makeover, Reopen to Privileged Few