'A Felony Just to Own': The Sleazy Story Behind Penthouse's Most Controversial Issue |
Because my mind is in the past (the mid-eighties) and in the gutter (the porn biz) for reasons that will become clear, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the September 1984 issue of Penthouse. How to convey the magnitude of the frenzy? Maybe this does it. Peter Bloch, Penthouse's then-executive editor: "It was the best-selling issue of Penthouse of all time. Hands down. A complete sellout in, like, two days. You couldn't get a copy. So there were guys paying—and this is something I saw with my own eyes—a dollar for a peek. A peek!" |
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| There are more than eight billion people on planet earth, and very few of them can remain relatable while they're telling you about the time the diamond fell out of their mouth. Not just relatable, likable. Your heart breaks when you hear how he hungrily bit into a Chicken McNugget that night in Rome, and how he just knew he'd lost that $600,000 fang. It hardly matters that the story has already been spoiled. The two massive, real-ass jewels are right there on his canines where they belong; a happy ending is a sure thing. But still: "I had the left one in my hand, and I dropped it right into the sink hole," he says. (Under normal circumstances, you'd correct him and say, "Drain," but you don't, because the guy is on a roll.) "I'm like, 'Fuck, man, I'm going to have to go into the ancient Roman sewers.' " |
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Yusef Salaam and the Act of Forgiveness |
As one of the Central Park Five, Yusef Salaam served seven years in prison for a horrific crime he didn't commit. Now he wants to serve the city that condemned him. "I was a pariah. They said I was born a mistake. I'm not a mistake," Salaam tells me. "And I think that what I have been through gives me perspective on what people go through in life. I never thought about politics or holding elective office until recently, but I feel that this—I guess you might call it empathy—will be helpful to me as I serve my community. If, as Nietzsche says, you can find the why, then you can live any how. We all need a reason to live. This is mine. I was supposed to go through what I went through." |
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Barry Keoghan Is Different in Every Way |
Everything is different about Barry Keoghan. The way his face contorts ever so slightly to show you mischief or madness or melancholy, or maybe all three at once. The way he can take the piss out of people. The way he can take the piss out of himself. Whatever it is, it has to be something, because people—directors, other actors, movie audiences, awards voters—love him. He is the current Joker in the Batman movie franchise. He is a member of the Marvel universe (with Eternals). He's in a new World War II miniseries produced by Spielberg and Hanks. And in Saltburn, the new film from writer- director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), he appears in every frame and gives a performance that will go down in movie history as the one that made Barry Keoghan a star. |
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy Has a Message for Americans About Democracy |
Ukraine's wartime democracy, at least here in our part of the world, has shaken the dust from everything that is considered to be the foundations of democracy. The weight of words. The common goal. The equality of different people. The pride of free people. Unity. The trust without which there is no unity. Will we preserve all this after our victory in the war? And will Ukrainian peacetime democracy be as inspiring as a democracy that fights for itself? And why, when there was no mortal threat to the nation, were the values of our democracy so easily shadowed in the frippery of everyday life? Is it always necessary to have an external enemy who does not stop at terror to make people remember how important internal unity is and how valuable it is to care about each other, even if he or she is different from you and you may never see each other again? |
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Five Fits With: Legendary Bush Frontman Gavin Rossdale |
Best known as lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter of the legendary rock band Bush, Gavin Rossdale has also done a fair amount of acting, owns his own clothing brand, Sea of Sound, and is currently working on a cooking show. He was in New York City a couple of weeks ago to play a show with Bush at Irving Plaza in honor of International Peace Day. The show supported Artist for Action, a group of musicians looking to raise awareness for the coalition and eliminate gun violence in America. Bush has nine studio albums over their illustrious 30+ year career, and on November 20, they'll be releasing a Greatest Hits album. Below, Gavin and I sat down over a cup of tea to discuss some of the most memorable moments of his career, finding musical inspiration after 30 years, Rick Owens, Japanese designers, and plenty of other topics. |
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