"IT'S NOT gay marriage that should be outlawed, it's first marriages," writes P.J. O'Rourke.
I would guess that almost everybody agrees with this except Michelle and Barack Obama and a few rare others.
SUCH A joy to see the Asadorian-Mejia photograph of Catherine Zeta-Jones going to rehearsals of "A Little Night Music" on the streets of Manhattan looking like a billion bucks in a long fur coat, dark glasses, a handsome red purse and high-heeled black boots.
This is such a contrast to the usual paparazzi snap of the rich, famous and well-known who like to appear looking as of they are ready for the scrap heap.
Oscar winner Catherine spells "class" all the way to the rehearsal hall.
BARBRA STREISAND also goes to the top of our list for her unheralded generosity. This item is from a musician who stayed with her for the entire last tour. "She was a complete doll to everyone; first-class accommodations for us, a party given for all the musicians at the end. She could not have been sweeter or more professional. As opposed to (blank) who was very cheap with us on her tour!"
Hmmm, I'll let you guess who (blank) is, but I'm here to tell you now, it's not Madonna! It's someone who is a veteran in show business and should know better.
DIDJA know that, according to the UK Film Council, Kate Winslet is reported to be worth $100 million to the British economy? The Oscar-winning 34-year-old has often piqued English ire that she lives part of the time in New York with her director husband. But now she is being celebrated for attracting business to the British movie industry.
Kate is famous for standing up for herself and for other women. She won a big libel settlement recently when she sued a newspaper for writing of her non-exercise regime that "she had to be hiding the truth to look so good." Kate stood up for women, saying: "I strongly believe that women should be encouraged to accept themselves as they are, so to suggest that I was lying was an unacceptable accusation of hypocrisy."
IF YOU have an interest in seeing acquitted murderer O.J. Simpson in all his glory (I do mean nude) then pick up the new "Harry Benson: Photography" book. I suggest you buy this great work of photo art, or drop by your favorite bookstore, if it's still in business. Peruse the pages till you find O.J. naked and unretouched. This photo is really something. As you ladies of the Wow can plainly see! ... Well, now we know that Tiger Woods isn't perfect, although to date he has accumulated a "Mr. Perfect" celebrity record. He's human just like everybody else. He can have a fight with his wife and crash a car in total distraction like anyone else under stress...
At the recent Glamour magazine awards, Serena Williams -- one of the most glam -- was all sweetness and light onstage. At that time, I guess it's a good thing she hadn't heard the amount of her astronomical fine for swearing at a line judge -- $82,500. So the audience was safe that night...
Told you sometime back that there'd be a book revealing "all" about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and that it would not be nice. Well, the book is here.
But I must ask, considering the lead time for writing a book, getting it to the publisher, submitting to vetting and editing, etc., how could author Ian Halperin ("Brangelina: The Untold Story...") possibly know to predict that they'd be split by the time he hit the stores? As far as I can ascertain, they aren't split. I guess we'll have to wait a minute.
IT'S NO secret that I am an admirer of the writer Julia Reed. She's the New Orleans-based dynamo who can delineate the antics of a first lady or the wiles of a business criminal or tell us how they make everything from coleslaw to the Rolls Royce engine.
An ace reporter for Newsweek, her hobby is food, glorious food ... and a little bit of drink. And once upon a time, Julia added heft to whatever serious thing Vogue might be offering, but she slipped out of Anna Wintour's hands.
Julia is a charter member of the Wow gang when we can nail her down. But now I want to tell you about her moonlighting as the "creative director" of another brand-new Website called www.taigan.com.
Shopping online may feel pretty impersonal, but Julia insists that taigan.com is different and her part of it is writing a little magazine on the Website, called "fetch." The taigan.com site showcases really great individual retailers who each have a gorgeous homepage where they post delightful videos of their wares.
Julia's column under the "fetch" name talks about holiday entertaining and making merry (She is an expert as all of her husbands and boyfriends could tell you.) Julia's column stays "up" on the site for two weeks at a time and changes slightly each Wednesday. The Wows advise you to get onto this for your own sake. (I always take Julia's advice on everything because I'm afraid of her and fear she'll take away my Southern eating privileges.)
(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)
