Martin Amis, the enfant terrible of British novelists, recently came to Manhattan to read from his new book, The Pregnant Widow. During the summer of 1970, the novel’s protagonist and several other privileged 20-somethings frolic in a castle outside of Rome, reveling in the newfound sexual liberties of their time. Amis could have chosen to read a [...]

The 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, or “The Barefoot Bandit,” led a luxe life on the run, because apparently juvie and halfway houses didn’t suit his taste for the finer things. He burgled homes, stole cars and big boats, and even hijacked a bunch of planes, though he was never trained in the technicalities of flight. He’s [...]

I have always been obsessed by glass houses, and even more so by the people who inhabit them. Robert Rubin is a total pimp and a collector of something even more exciting than fine art … fine architecture.
After Rubin got rich on Wall Street, he was able to pursue his real passion for collecting, and [...]

I recently received an expensive camera as a belated birthday gift, and it makes HD-quality videos, so basically, I can shoot my very own vodka advertisements, and other important things like that for Youtube.
But filmmaking is hard. Apparently even Woody Allen, the miniature king of cinema, does not yet have sufficient funding for his next [...]

I went to Saint-Tropez this weekend to soak up the first rays of summer, and I had the good fortune of eating at an outrageously over-the-top French restaurant in the hills. It is owned by a giant Corsican man, Bruno, who is world-famous for his truffles. Talk about pimp.
The intense meal involved truffle caviar, truffle-infused [...]

At the ripe old age of 98, the famous French artist Louise Bourgeois died this week. She didn’t become a contemporary art celebrity until she reached her 70s, so it’s lucky she was vigorous enough to enjoy a few decades of her glory years.
Bourgeois is best known as a sculptor who created giant spiders, many-breasted [...]

I attended “Speech Day” at Stowe School this weekend in Buckingham, England. A friend of mine was receiving a prize for mathematics. In typical British form, there was a vintage car show on the campus’ front lawn, with Aston Martins, Morgans, beautiful old Jaguars, big-ass Bentleys, etc. etc. Numerous cricket matches had been advertised on [...]

I attended the annual “American University Club Cocktail Party” at the pimped-out Parisian mansion of the US Ambassador’s house. Eager for a romantic prospect to pop up in the form of a dashing young diplomat with a British accent, Italian sartorial sense, Parisian address, and American education, I ended up surrounded by a lot of priggish lawyers [...]

Blenheim – an 18th century palace nestled among resplendent gardens, shimmering lakes, and stately trees- is England’s Versailles. With 2500 acres of verdant fields and elegant rose gardens, it’s no wonder the English gentry flock here for picnics by the river and a little afternoon delight in the property’s arboretum. Tourists come to see where Winston Churchill spent his childhood [...]

Ever since I watched them playing devious little toddlers on Fullhouse, I knew I had started a life-long obsession. But now that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are 23 years old, just like me, and they are selling their glamorous West Village penthouse for $8.45 million, as though it’s an old sock they want to get rid [...]