By Velvet Roper staff 7/27/12 1:12pm

Question of the Week

22 Photos

Olympic Rings

Question of the Week: In What Olympic Event, Real or Imagined, Would Celebrities Most Like to Compete?

As you almost certainly know, the Olympics start today. (And thank god New York City didn’t win the bid seven years ago, right? Clearly Williamsburg didn’t need a brand new Olympic Aquatic Center/Beach Volleyball Arena when it could revamp McCarren!)

This week we trolled red carpets and parties probing celebrities with the following query: What Olympic event, real or imagined, would you most like to compete in?

Their answers were colorful (if not delusional), and include tidbits from Susan Sarandon, Zach Galifianakis, Calvin Klein, Audrey Gelman, a former Bachelor, the entire cast of Miss Advised, and many more. Click through for the slideshow. Read More

By Kristin Anderson 7/19/12 10:00am

democracy now?

TKTKTK.

Dustin Yellin’s Hipster-Laden Anti-Tea Party Fundraiser Light on Politics, Heavy on Artisanal Ice Cream

By evening’s end, Dustin Yellin was shirtless, grooving pretty heartily to the tunes of friend Adam Green (formerly of the anti-folk band the Moldy Peaches), in Yellin’s lately acquired 24,000 square foot Red Hook warehouse arts complex called the Intercourse. He looked to be enjoying himself.

The occasion was the first night of Downtown for Democracy’s (alias D4D) foodie fundraiser series, the aptly named Dining for Democracy. D4D crystallized in 2003 on the eve of the Bush/Kerry election. Since then they’ve served as the crossroads of hip, creative types, progressive politics, and parties. And this year, the organization takes on what they refer to as the “Tea Party 10,” ten of the most radical (and per a D4D affiliate, the most vulnerable) members with a hand in the upcoming election.

For a $50 entry fee, Mr. Yellin had offered up the Intercourse to a bevy of diners, Mr. Green and a handful of Brooklyn eateries. The vibe was not unlike any typical backyard barbecue—albeit with more maxi dresses and stilettos. Outside a dog ran around, and guests negotiated melting ice cream cones and reclined in the grass. Others stood in the Intercourse’s main gallery space (currently occupied by Mr. Green’s series “Cartoon and Complaint”), necks craning for a look at the space’s lofted studios. Read More

By Kristin Anderson 5/24/12 4:02pm

Openings

The tiny downtown wunderkammer bankrolled by Andy Spade. (Photo by Kristin Anderson)

“Rudy Giuliani” Cuts the Ribbon on a Tiny Downtown Museum Called, Um, Museum

When we read on our invitation that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be cutting the ribbon at the inaugural evening of Museum, a mysterious new downtown venture, we confess we felt a certain degree of perplexity. And so, armed only with the knowledge that the evening’s main attraction somehow involved an old freight elevator, last night we headed down to lower Manhattan’s Cortlandt Alley. Read More