Wilson, Keppel and Betty: Too Naked for the Nazis has won the Diagram Prize, awarded to the book of the year with the oddest title.
The Telegraph explains:
Too Naked for the Nazis tells the story of how the musical act of Jack Wilson, Joe Keppel and the American Betty Knox, infuriated the Nazi's propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, when they performed their famous Egyptian sand dance in Berlin before the war. The trio went on to inspire Morecambe and Wise and the Chuckle Brothers.
Mr Stafford said: “A good title not only tells the public what the book’s about, sometimes it tells the author too! Too Naked for the Nazis pinpoints the central event of my book—when a pair of comedy Egyptian sand dancers incurred the wrath of the Nazi high command by a blatant exposure of hairy legs. It was when the title started provoking more comment than the book that I began to appreciate its worth.
[Telegraph]
I watched "Carol" yesterday because lesbians, Cate Blanchett, and Todd Haynes ("Safe," "Superstar," "Far from Heaven"). It reminded me a bit of "High Art" because lesbians, photography, road trip ("High Art" is better). The acting, eyebrows of Rooney Mara, and wardrobe are all impeccable. Like many of the other films by Haynes that I've seen, there's a simmering, brooding tension and weirdly compelling artifice. Here, I felt, it doesn't quite work. There's just something cold and heatless -- other than that one sex scene -- about it; like, it never fully flowers. But maybe that's the point. After all their love isn't easy. Maybe the movie shouldn't be.
"Valentine's Day/wangover feelin @alexanderwangny $UCK IT"
Susan Braudy has the scoop:
Almost as soon as I arrived in Manhattan to seek my fortune, I backed into a knuckle-bruising battle with Playboy’s Hugh Hefner.
My new city-slick literary agent Lois Wallace had signed me because she liked my articles in a zippy new Yale monthly called The New Journal. So after Playboy editors approached Lois about a piece on something called the new feminism, she lipped a smoke ring into her telephone and asked me, “How’d you like to be the first woman to write for Playboy?”
The year was 1969. I thought Playboy defined cheesy, but I was too timid to say so. Furthermore, I was afraid to admit I’d never heard of any new feminists.
Lois, however sophisticated, was a shouter: “You’re in New York, dammit, not in some ivory tower.”
Jim Goode, Playboy’s articles editor, contacted me that afternoon. Speaking more slowly than I thought a human could, he explained that Playboy wanted an objective account of the entire spectrum of the brand new “women’s lib” movement. “These women have important things to say, and I want our readers to hear them,” he said. “Let yourself go. Write anything you like but don’t pass judgment. Be fair.”
He concluded, “Write in a tone that’s amused if the author is amused, but never snide.”
[Jezebel]
If you're into politics, arts and crafts, paper dolls, Donald Trump, or porn, WoodRocket has created a Donald Trump paper doll with different penis options.
There are six diverse styles to pick from, so you have to use your imagination on this one.
The choice is yours, America.
[WoodRocket]
Porn Star Lisa Ann reveals all:
Most stories of NBA players getting hustled do not shock me since I’ve probably heard the worst from girls talking on porn sets about the things they do to players. I’ve heard girls say they make sure he is married or in a relationship before going back to his hotel with him. Once there they wait for their moment alone with his wallet and take photos of all of his credit cards and his ID. The final part of the plan is blackmail. You would be shocked how many NBA players have had been blackmailed in an effort to keep their privacy. My guess is a minimum of 25 percent of NBA players have dealt with blackmail at some point in their career. I’ve heard girls brag about long-term hustles where they have a player paying their rent and expenses just to keep them quiet and out of their family life.
[Complex]
This sneak peek at the new upcoming graphic novel from Dan Clowes, Patience, makes it a must-read in my book.
Spoiler alert:
But then, the man comes home and finds the woman dead on the floor of their house. He's suspected of murder, acquitted, and sets out to find the killer himself. He meets a guy who has a time machine, and he uses the device to try to change the course of events that led to his girlfriend's death. He goes back to her teenage years, where he learns more about her and comes to terms with her sexual and emotional past—things he had not wanted to know about before her death. It's a time-traveling love story by a beautiful, twisted genius. We hope you like it.
[Vice]
"D E T R O I T ✅💖✅ @blue_velvet_detroit @shopstreetheart"
Creates a cult following: My book Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture created lots of controversy with its risqué cover, intense premise and cultural arguments (It actually got banned from one country, too, which has become a point of pride.). It was my first major book, so I was naive about how to weather the negative press and feedback. The biggest surprise, though, was how many people to this day are super passionate about my work. It was and is a divisive book and, through the book tour and social media, I learned it resonated with a surprising number of people.
[Inc.]
There's more on BuzzFeed, courtesy of Flo Perry, who has fun ideas on men bleeding.
At the request of Mr. Bollea’s lawyer, Mr. Denton read aloud from Mr. Daulerio’s sexually explicit piece on the video, in a gentle British accent. And a juror asked Emma Carmichael, the editor of Jezebel, the feminist site,who was testifying about the publishing process, whether she had ever slept with Mr. Denton or Mr. Daulerio. The Tampa Bay Times, which has been following the trial, described that moment:
The question, while clearly ignorant of the fact that Denton is gay, hinted at something darker. It appeared to suggest that Carmichael had slept her way to a position of power, and it stunned the courtroom. Heads swiveled and voices hushed.
“No,” Carmichael replied smoothly. She left it at that.
[NYT]
David Cronenberg talks about what it was like to cast the twin gynecologists in "Dead Ringers":
One of the most challenging roles to cast was that of the twin gynecologists in "Dead Ringers," a project that took 10 years to make. "I approached thirty of the most famous actors in the world. No one wanted to play twins that were so similar, or gynecologists for that matter," he revealed. "The Anglo-American actors didn’t want to play the twins, the Italian-American actors didn’t want to play gynecologists. Jeremy Irons was the first financeable actor who was willing to play the part, but then when we got financing in place he got second doubts. I had to seduce him all over again." After the film’s release, Cronenberg was interviewed by a radio journalist who stated, "If Jeremy Irons doesn’t win an Oscar for 'Dead Ringers' there is no God." Cronenberg said he has been an atheist ever since.
[Indiewire]
In today's edition of Bollea v Gawker, the court watched a video of Heather Clem's deposition, in which she wept while recounting the details behind her videotaped sexual encounter with Hulk Hogan.
"I was asked to go to Mr. Bollea's room by my husband, and I did," Clem said, using Hogan’s real name, Terry Bollea.
Her recollection contradicted Hogan’s own testimony that Clem had hounded him for sex during a time when he was particularly vulnerable because of his divorce from Linda Hogan.
"Did Mr. Clem generally pick who you had sex with?" she was asked during the deposition shown to the St. Petersburg, Fla., jury.
"On the occasion that I had sex with someone other than him, yes," Clem replied.
When she realized Bubba had recorded her with Hogan she became upset and demanded the video be destroyed, Clem said.
[NYDN]
