I am The Waris

Who is Waris Ahluwalia, really? According to Jalouse, the French fashion magazine featuring him on this month’s cover, he’s the coolest guy in the world. From his general run-down we know he’s an actor, a jewelry designer and an international jet-set celebrity shoulder-rubber. But coolest guy in the world? The title may be a bit much.

Waris flew onto my radar last week when I saw his jewelry line, House of Waris, in the uber-cool Miami Beach boutique Alchemist. When I noticed him on the cover of Jalouse a few days later I figured he was someone worth learning a little more about.

I thought this may be difficult. He has an untouchable cool surrounding his persona, so much so that I was convinced he would be untraceable, un-Google-able, in that that ”I’m so under-the-radar but have a very strategic publicist” kind of way. But, not so much.

With a couple strokes of the keyboard I discovered a quite extensive bio. It goes a little something like this…privileged New York upbringing, upstate liberal arts college, did the music thing, got bored, did the magazine upstart, lost interest, got involved in some charities, so that’s good, made a ring, some buyer liked it, we sold a few (to mainly celebs!) and now I am a jewelry designer.

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I am pretty sure that sounds like every boring girl in New York who can’t hold a job or figure out what she wants to do with her life so she “starts a jewelry company.” One more exciting than the next, let me tell you…

Now just because he’s a dude and he’s randomly appeared in a few Wes Anderson and Spike Lee films—bold-name buddies never hurt—does that make him anymore interesting? Not in my book. And I’m ok with the fact that Tatler, Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Complex, Paper, Surface, W and every other media outlet/purveyor of cool disagrees with me.

Final Word: The jewelry is actually quite interesting—too bad it gets overshadowed by the obsession. But in the Paris Hilton school of marketing the persona is always bigger than the product. So the world’s coolest person? I think not. But on his way to becoming one of the most successful? That I could possibly believe.

Thoroughly Thinspired

Eating disorders are making a comeback! Just when I thought the head cases of today relied on prescription pills, cocaine consumption and a steady stream of Ballerina Tee to stay thin, good ole’ anorexia and bulimia are popping up all over pop culture. How 90’s!

We were just talking about that Lifetime Original where the bulimic girl stores her vomit in Tupperware containers and stacks it in her closet. That visual is forever burned in our minds. Classic ’94 after-school special in the post-Tracey Gold days.

The 2007 resurgence started with last week’s episode of Nip/Tuck when Eden, the show’s newest Lolita, successfully convinces 12-year-old Annie that she has to become either anorexic or bulimic to gain the attention of her schoolboy crush.

They weighed their options—no pun intended—with a pro-eating disorder website and tried to decide which of their “good friends” to side with, “Ana or Emi.” Sadly, we came to discover that such websites actually do exist. But then again, of course they do.

But Nip/Tuck is always sick and twisted, so this didn’t surprise us much. But when Blair Waldorf had a bulimia montage on last night’s Thanksgiving episode of Gossip Girl we knew that eating disorder “it” status was solidified.

It comes as no surprise that Blair is, or was, a bulimic. Her fashion-designer/socialite mother is always saying things like “change into something enchanting” or “wear pearls with that,” her father is a fairy who ran off to Europe with a male model, and she has spent her life living in the shadows of her best friend S.

She’s a classic case. But controlling your weight does not add control to your life, B! Plus, no one ever got THAT thin using the binging and purging method anyway. Though I did enjoy watching her house that entire chicken potpie! That baby did not stand a chance.

In addition, I love that the word “thinspiration” has now been added to the lexicon.

Final Word: Thin is in! Confidence and perspective is so passé. Everyone knows that. Everyone does.

Someone Call a (Real) Doctor

We were super excited for the October 30th return of Nip/Tuck, until we saw this.

Poor Joley Richardson. She was never my favorite, but I wouldn’t wish this Rachel Zoe make-under on even my worst enemies.

I’m sure those clever N/T writers will have no trouble working her emaciated frame into the script. They’ll just blame the weight loss on her character’s depression caused by giving birth to a lobster-child, having sex with a midget, and finding out that her husband slept with the now dead “Hand That Rocks the Cradle” nanny.

But with McNamara/Troy relocating to LA, we were hoping to not see much of her character anyway. And look, now she’s invisible!

We wish Joley a speedy recovering from whatever it is she’s suffering from. And who are we kidding? We’re still counting the moments until Sean and Christian return to our living room.

Final Word: Nip/Tuck premiers October 30th on FX.

"Truthiness" to The White House?

For those of you who have yet to align yourselves with a presidential candidate (myself included) perhaps Stephen Colbert is your guy.

Yes, Stephen Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s late-night political satire “The Colbert Report.”

Announcing his official run for office earlier this week, Colbert will appear on the primaries ballot in his home state of South Carolina. He will run both Republican and Democrat, giving himself the opportunity to “lose twice.”

This is hardly the first time an entertainer has set their sights on the White House. Ronald Reagan was a movie star, The Governator swept California and “Law & Order’s” Fred Thompson is currently on the Republican ballot.

But Colbert’s run has nothing to do with winning. He continues to make a mockery of the American political system, which is really just an extension of what he does on his show every night. But he does it well, so I am curious to see how long this joke will run before we get punch line.

Final Word: We generally love him. And even though chances are he will NOT be the next leader of the free world, at least it will boost his ratings!

Another Shot at Six-cess

It’s week three of the new NY Post’s Page Six Magazine and we can officially declare that we're into it.

We never read The Post for anything more than Page Six itself (does anyone?), so this glossy little guy gives us everything we need.

It also helps that it arrives on our doorstep every Sunday morning free of charge, but then again, who’s keeping score?

Although I am not going to go out on a limb and call this publication “smart,” it is definitely far less dumb than the salacious paper from which it sprung and most other glossies on the market.

For example, this week's cover girl is writer/actress/director, Jennifer Westfeldt. Most of us have not heard much from her since Jessica Kissing Stein appeared on DVD (for those of us who were mainstream/indie enough to catch it).

She’s beautiful, talented and intelligent (a Yale alumi). And she’s certainly not Heidi Montag, so she’s got that going for her. The inside reads weren't half bad either.

Final Word: For as long as it appears on our doorstep, we'll continue to read it. But for a mag with a troubled past, who knows how long that will be.

Something to Talk About: Gossip Girl

Yes, I may be 25-years-old. And yes, I do live in Manhattan and maintain a somewhat active social life. But that doesn’t mean I can’t long to live vicariously through scandalous Upper East Side prep school kids, does it?

I’m talking about Gossip Girl, the saucy new teenage drama that debuted last night on the CW. Brought to us by the people behind The O.C., creator Josh Schwartz has found another group of dreadfully good-looking, privileged, screwed-up teenagers to tap.

In the first episode alone we’ve already watched the main character getting busy with her best friend’s boyfriend, two 16-year-olds slamming martinis like a true addict at the Palace Hotel bar, pre-gaming with joints and champagne in the back of a limo, and as a cornerstone to televised teenage drama, a date-rape scene.

We especially love Blake Lively as main character Serena van der Woodsen, who has just returned from boarding school to reclaim her title as social queen bee and curb her hard partying ways (so far, not much luck with either). The actress achieves a perfect balance between the bitch you want to hate and the girl you want to be (well, if you were seventeen).

But we truly love the show because it’s real. Teenagers in this city are certainly like this, if not worse.

So now being in my mid (ouch!) twenties, we can posthumously thank Aaron Spelling for our addiction to all this adolescent angst-ridden glory. We’ve been hooked on this shit since we were ten, do you honest believe we’re going to give it up now? I would call it a guilty pleasure, but I don’t even feel guilty about it.

Final Word: Gossip Girl, every Wednesday at 9pm on the CW11.