French Postcards

These sexy photos of Malik are courtesy of my blogging pals Steph & Alek over at OhLaLaParis. The boys produced this photo shoot for DNA magazine with the photographer Fred Goudon. The results speak for themselves ... ooh la la!

Page 1 Consider (05/30)

The Wright Stuff: Coca-Cola bought Vitamin Water for a cool $4.1 billion over the weekend, and Mets slugger David Wright stands to pocket $20 million. Why, you ask? In lieu of payment for his ad campaign, the sexy third baseman accepted a 0.5 percent interest in the company last year. (Smarter than he looks, huh?) Wright was quoted as saying he is "extremely pleased" with the deal. (Who could blame him?) Michael and I will be seeing Davey in the flesh tonight as the Mets take on the Giants at Shea Stadium, with hottie Barry Zito pitching -- and Barry Bonds looking to make "history." (NYP)

Divided Apple: A new poll shows New Yorkers are nearly evenly split on the topic of gay marriage, with a majority of Democrats, voters under 55 years old and Jewish voters support gay marriage the poll shows. (Don't all Jewish mothers want their children married to someone?) (Source)

Love, American Style: Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll shows American acceptance of gay rights is at its highest level in 30 years: 59% of Americans believe that "homosexual relations between consenting adults" should be legal. This question, which is part of the Gallup Poll’s annual Values and Beliefs survey carried out each May, has been asked every year since 1977, when only 43 percent responded affirmatively. (I'm surprised it was that high then given the fact that Texas' sodomy laws were only shot down in recent years.) (Advocate)

What Can He Do for Browns? Checking in with quarterback Brady Quinn after his first day of training camp with the Cleveland Browns. (AOL)

Memorial May: The American military said that 10 American soldiers had died Monday in separate attacks, making May the deadliest month for American troops since November 2004. (NYT)

Statewide Embarrassment: I thought Arizona's impeached, racist car dealer, Evan Meacham, was the most embarrassing governor in American history until I read about Nevada's latest, Jim Gibbons. In recent months, Gibbons -- already the subject of an FBI probe into whether he failed to report gifts from a military contractor while serving in Congress -- announced a plan to turn coal into jet fuel to raise money (problematic, as Nevada has no coal to speak of) and proposed paying for a $3.8 billion shortfall in highway construction money by selling water rights under state highways (it turns out the state did not actually own the rights). He told a local editorial board he could not pronounce the name of his energy adviser because she was “Indian” -- she is Turkish. He muddled through a bruising primary and general election, the latter overshadowed by an altercation with a cocktail waitress in a Las Vegas parking lot (his version: he was trying to help her into her car. her version: he sexually assaulted her). Wait till you read about his wife. (NYT)

Homeless Lesbian: A woman who sought housing at a Chicago homeless shelter but was turned away because she is a lesbian is filing a complaint over the matter. Michelle Wang, 27, came to the Chicago from Indianapolis last year with her partner, but their relationship ended, leaving her without a home, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which is handling her case. (Advocate)

Near Cat-astrophe: An Israeli man clad only in underwear and a T-shirt wrestled a leopard to the ground and pinned it for 20 minutes after it entered his bedroom in a desert college and tried to make a meal of his pet cat. Both animals survived. (AP)

Digging 'Diggers'

Watched the director Katherine Dieckmann's new film, "Diggers," with Michael over the weekend. It stars cutie Paul Rudd and Maura Tierney as a working-class brother-sister coping with the death of their clam digger father on the South Shore of Long Island circa 1976. The "realizing you're really an adult once your parents die" theme isn't groundbreaking, but the smart script and outstanding performances -- particularly by Tierney and the hilarious Ken Marino (the former "State" star who also wrote and co-produced the film) as the siblings' hyperfertile friend Lozo -- make the film worth seeing. (It was fun seeing Lauren Ambrose in a small part that is decidedly not Claire Fisher, although her inner art student rises to the surface in the end!) One question though: what happened to the Strong Long Island accents, guys? Buy "Diggers" on DVD here.

Footnote: "Diggers" received a limited theatrical release on April 27, 2007, and also premiered on HDNet on the same day, and the DVD came out days later, on May 1. It's an interesting strategy for a "little movie" given the expense of marketing and getting a film distributed in wide release. I wonder if we'll see more "simultaneous releasing" options as the digital age continues.

How Embarrassing

And now it's off to rehab (again) for Lindsay Lohan. I certainly hope this doesn't get in the way of their being a "Herbie Fully Loaded 2" -- she's such a gifted actress. People keep saying it's just inevitable that she end up like this because she's been famous since she was a young child. But I don't buy into that crap. Hilary Duff was twice as big a star before her and doesn't act like this. Alyssa Milano was a star since she was a child and never had any of these problems. This is a reflection of her, not society. (NYP)

An American (Massacre) in Paris

It didn't take long for 2007 to become the worst American performance at the French Open in at least 30 years. Eight of the nine Americans entered lost in the first round -- including our top players, James Blake and Andy Roddick. And the win-challenged Robby Ginepri is the only remaining American left in the draw -- mainly because his match was suspended. Another person whose match was suspended is Carlos Moya, whom I'd marry to give him U.S. citizenship any old time.

Page 1 Consider (05/29)

The Final Straw: Even if she's not really authorized to do it, who better than Kathy Griffin to act as Rosie O'Donnell's spokeswoman? Griffin says O'Donnell told her that she quit "The View" early because the director used a split screen during her now-infamous final dispute with Elizabeth Hasselbeck. It was then that she "knew it was over." She said the split-screen made "The View" look like "The Jerry Springer Show" (although wouldn't that be a step up?). (AA)

Generation Gap: It's the end of the world as we know it: The New York Times ran a story with the word badonkadonk in it on Sunday. On the upside, the "St. Elmo's Fire generation" has been officially christened. (NYT)

Hollywood Nights: I love how the news stories about Lindsay Lohan's car crash and arrest include firsthand accounts from people who just happened to be two inches away, and by people I mean paparazzi: "I quickly got out of my car and said, 'Lindsay, are you OK?' And she didn't really respond, she was moving fast," said X17 photographer Perry Farinola. Farinola then saw Lohan get into another car. Too bad she didn't hit and run. (ABC)

Did He Get Fired From D&D? Somebody call Allison, quick. Andrew Shue is back with a new film about soccer, "Grace," that's based on his own family's tragic loss. (AP)

PSA: "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington, making amends for his use of an anti-gay slur, cautions in a public service announcement that "words have power" to hurt or heal: "I hope viewers will take a moment to reflect on the power of words, particularly when it comes to the lives of young people and their experience at school. Words have power. The power to express love, happiness and joy. They also have the power to heal," Washington says in the message. "When you use words that demean a person because of their sexual orientation, race or gender, you send a message of hate. ... We have the power to heal and change the world by the words we use." (AP)

Love Is Blind, Now: Young Linda Riss broke up with her older, married lover, Burt Pugach, when he wouldn't follow through on his promise to divorce his wife. He responded by stalking her and hiring thugs to throw lye in her face, leaving her disfigured and blind. After spending 14 years in the slammer for this henous assault he got out of jail and they've been married for the 33 years since. Sounds like love to me. "Crazy Love" sounds like the movie of the year to me. (NYT)/li>