Old Kissers Neither Die Nor Fade Away
Yesterday was the 62nd anniversary of V-J, and to commemorate this country’s hard-fought military victory over Japan in 1945, a bunch of guys dressed as sailors descended on Times Square to kiss a bunch of girls dressed as nurses, as they’ve been doing — or at least as we totally feel like they’ve been doing — every year on this anniversary for more than a few years now. It was a stirring, patriotic moment — or else just a chance for people who’ve never met before to engage in cheesy public displays of affection encouraged by a BID milking iconic imagery for its own marketing purposes. One of the two.
photo op
The Crossroads of Something
This afternoon in Times Square: Top, U.S. Navy sailors in town for Fleet Week cavort with the Knicks City Dancers; below, 32 women dressed in black and the Virginia Tech colors lie down on the sidewalk to commemorate the shooting rampage and protest “easy guns.”
photo op
The Fleet Is In
The USS Wasp passing the Statue of Liberty earlier today. We’ll spare you the obvious joke about our being down by the piers if you need us.
in other news
It’s Fleet Week
One problem with announcing Fleet Week is that it’s nearly impossible to say “Welcome, sailors” without sounding at least a bit like Mae West. So far today, only a New York Sun editorial made it work, by going off on a ridiculous tangent about Iraq and how, despite “a variety of views about the war,” we’re not going to call the guests babykillers. (Um, yes. Agreed.) Well, the boysships are coming in right about now. Starting tomorrow, there’ll be the usual assortment of slightly quaint official events (a Navy band at the Times Square recruitment station! Camouflage face-painting in Riverside Park!) and the less official, though no less sanctified, nighttime revelry. Mostly, though, we were intrigued by the bizarre names of the ships set to arrive here, which just reminded us how little we know of the naval life. On parade today will be the USS Wasp, the USS Winston Churchill (we hope the Royal Navy has an HMS Dwight Eisenhower), and the USS Hue City. We hope that last one gets along with the USS Wasp.
Navy Week Events Schedule [PDF]
Welcome, Sailors [NYS]
in other news
Toy Soldiers on the Upper East Side
They’ll probably never end up in Iraq, or in whichever poor country we’ll be bull-in-the-china-shopping by the time they grow up, but it turns out rich Upper East Side kiddies like to play with guns. Yesterday’s Times unearthed the Knickerbocker Greys — a kind of atavistic, paramilitary scout group, instituted in 1881 and still chugging along under the radar, providing 6- to 14-year-olds a place to have fun wearing Army uniforms and handling (unloaded) guns. Less than two dozen strong, the co-ed kiddie regiment spends its time over soda and marching drills in the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue. Most of the children, naturally, hail from military or law-enforcement dynasties, and, as behooves the neighborhood, there doesn’t appear to be a public-school kid in the bunch. We’ll let you decide whether this sort of thing is adorable or repulsive or a little bit of both. Before you do, however, let little Tommy, a proud Grey, help us collectively shake the mental image of, say, a Somali preteen with an AK-47. “I’m not going to ever join the military,” he told the Times. “Not unless my parents go bankrupt.”
Manhattan’s Littlest Soldiers [NYT]
photo op
Come on and Join Your Fellow Man
Forget the old “Join the Army: Travel the world, meet interesting people, and kill them” joke. According to this Bronx billboard, photographed for the blog Razor Apple, if you join the Navy, it’s all just one big rock show. Fun!
[Snap a Photo Op–worthy shot? Send it to us at intel@nymag.com.]
Fight for Moshzilla’s Right to Party [Razor Apple]
gossipmonger
Someone Please Keep Diane Sawyer BusyDiane Sawyer will take over World News from Charlie Gibson after the presidential election, but how will she entertain herself till then? Frank Capra wanted to make a sequel to It’s A Wonderful Life. Rod Stewart told Rolling Stone his daughter has a serious liver condition from partying too hard; she denies it. The owner of Cafe Fuego in the East Village, who’s also the boyfriend of Halle Berry, behaves just like all the ill-behaving ex-boyfriends of Halle Berry. Billionaire Russian heiress Anna Anisimova ditches New York for the warmer climes of L.A., plans to start a perfume company. Stephen Baldwin misbehaved on an airplane. Denis Leary made fun of Mel Gibson at the New York Comedy Festival. Borat had a few issues at the Wellington Hotel when he stayed there while filming a scene for his movie. Peter Cook still likes ‘em blonde. The makers of a documentary about the difficulties American soldiers after having readjusting to life at home are unable to get the Armed Forces to show it. Stylist Rachel Zoe angered Tom Ford when she left a dinner party he was throwing in L.A. Liz Smith has some advice for Britney Spears: Go on Oprah and tell the world, “I was unconscious for two years.” Evidently, Paula Abdul is Jewish.
gossipmonger
Stalkers, Anchors, and a Show Tune–Lovin’ GeneralStalkers are threatening Audioslave front man Chris Cornell’s children, prompting him to install a high-end security system. Diane Sawyer skipped a GMA party, either because she was sick or because she’s leaving the show. General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, went to see Hairspray. Christie Brinkley makes wake-up calls at Hyatt hotels. Ellen Barkin didn’t want to work when she was married. Quentin Tarantino has a new girlfriend, who sucked his fingers. Barbra Streisand didn’t like her suite at the Carlyle. Neither Robin Williams nor Jon Stewart is running for president. Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett went to a Titanic exhibit in San Francisco. Cheeta, Tarzan’s retired, now-74-year-old chimp sidekick, wouldn’t sit for an interview, drank Diet Coke instead. Candace Bushnell’s Sirius radio show launches today. Hillary Swank went on vacation at Donatella Versace’s house. Diddy bought an eight-foot teddy bear. Bobby Kennedy’s family likes Bobby. Three West 27th Street club owners also have roles in movies. Jimmy Buffet takes vitamins, not Ecstasy.
