<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, shira lazar]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, shira lazar]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/shiralazar http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/shiralazar <![CDATA[Julia Allison Joins World's Worst 'Think Tank']]> Social network lunch.com is convening "Geeks at the Beach" today and tomorrow in Los Angeles. It's a think tank with "critical thinking... expanding the enlightened mind." So who's there? All the top tech thinkers:

So basically, all the top brain power in one spot.

Allison uploaded the picture above of this dot-com Algonquin Round Table, in their flip-flops and beach clothes. We cannot wait to read their report.

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<![CDATA[Kirstie Alley Blocks 'F$##ING PAPARAZZI WHORES' on Twitter]]> The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Wired editors contemplated crystal meth; Paul Carr cursed out #hashtags and Kirstie Alley got into it with a paparazzo. The Twitterati felt seedy today.



Venture Beat's Eric Rosser Eldon implied his computer might perform better with a little therapy.


Camera-loving blogger Shira Lazar explained how she sizes up men in Hawaii.


Wired's Adam Rogers placed his title at the center of a ven diagram involving sci-fi, tech journalism and hard-core narcotics.



Twitter made new-media whore Paul Carr especially #belligerent.


Kristie Alley found she could not escape the papparazzi, even on Twitter. This did not make her happy.



Did you witness the media elite tweet something indiscreet? Please email us your favorite tweets — or send us more Twitter usernames.

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<![CDATA[After Jimmy Fallon, Is Kevin Rose's Buddy Act Over?]]> Did you hear? Digg founder Kevin Rose was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Wednesday. As was Rose's forgettable Diggnation cohost — what's his name? Ah, yes — Alex Albrecht, who we hear wants out.

Rose is a geek hero, famous first for his stint hosting a tech-focused TV show on Comcast's G4TV. Diggnation, an online video show where Rose and Albrecht drink beer and discuss popular headlines on Digg, Rose's social-news site, is the centerpiece of Revision3, Rose's online-video startup. Appearing on broadcast TV, though, is a high-water mark for this icon of geek culture.

While Rose has a burgeoning mini-media empire which has won him magazine covers, Albrecht has languished in relative obscurity — the "blond guy," as Fallon called him.

Which is why when we heard that Albrecht wanted out of his contract, we didn't dismiss the rumor out of hand. As lucrative as the Diggnation gig must be for what is, let's be honest, an excuse to drink in front of a camera, Albrecht could well be frustrated at being Rose's sidekick. (The job does have one perk, though: The ability to say scathing things about Rose and get away with it. Rose is a famously prolific dater whose brief entanglements have included egoblogger Julia Allison and L.A. TV personality Shira Lazar. Albrecht's comment at a party: Rose "has basically plowed through everybody.")

We asked Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback, who was also up late, what gives. "His agent hasn't complained to me," Louderback said. "Sounds like posturing." Posturing? You mean, the kind of crick one gets from perpetually playing second fiddle?

Here's the clip of Rose and Albrecht's appearance — watch closely, because if there's anything to this rumor, it might not be repeated:

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<![CDATA[Guns, Profanity, Paranoia, and Fear on Twitter]]> Twitteronia is a scary place to be. A Googler got violent, an NBC TV host swore, and we frightened a top AP editor — while Michelle Malkin had a breakdown. Today's twittiest tweets:

Del.icio.us founder Joshua Schachter, now a Google engineer, contemplated violence. (There's some kind of thing about guns going around on Twitter! We don't get it, but we sure hope that's what Schachter's referring to!)
KNBC TV personality Shira Lazar corrupted the youth of America.
Associated Press managing editor Lou Ferrara expressed an entirely legitimate concern.
Bizarro right-wing conservatrix Michelle Malkin made it official: She is not PC.
New Yorker writer Tad Friend cried in public.

See something worth noting on Twitter? Please email us your favorite tweets — or send us more Twitter usernames.

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<![CDATA[The Twitterati Hold Hands with George Clooney's Hose]]> On Twitter, no brush with celebrity can go unremarked. Guess which member of the Twitterati slept with George Clooney and which one held hands at Ryan Seacrest's workplace!

British tabloid reporter Simon Crisp inadvertently became the story.

Talking Points Memo blogger Matt Cooper thought about his equipment.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof lived out every straight woman's fantasy.

Patty Rodriguez, a writer for Ryan Seacrest, probed workplace boundaries.

KNBC TV personality Shira Lazar did nothing to improve the reputation of TV personalities.

Anyone else's tweets we should keep an eye on? Send us more Twitter usernames, please.

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<![CDATA[Twittering Like a Peacock]]> Did GE corporate issue a memo about this "Twitter" thing? Because all of a sudden, Ann Curry and a bunch of other NBC people are using it. Can't wait to see the Six Sigma metrics!

Disturbingly handsome former MSNBC chief turned media-corrupting journalist-peddler Dan Abrams got shamed into using Twitter by Rachel Sklar, then embarrassed her by doing it wrong.

Don't feel bad, Dan! Octo-mom interviewer Ann Curry also failed on her first day using Twitter. Pesky 140-character limit!

Los Angeles social-media enthusiast and KNBC personality Shira Lazar dreamt of immortality.

1600 host David Shuster did it live.

Twitter-addicted NBC cameraman Jim Long got some sweetness with his coffee.

Anyone else's tweets we should keep an eye on? Send us more Twitter usernames, please.

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<![CDATA[A Day When None Rose Above]]> What's going on with our favorite Twitterati? Read what floats Jason Pontin's boat, discover the key to Shira Lazar's heart, and learn Aaron Task's wooing secrets.


Faux-British Technology Review editor-in-chief Jason Pontin contemplated his surroundings.

Yahoo Tech Ticker anchor Aaron Task consulted with the ladies.

NBC-employed Los Angeles fameball Shira Lazar fondled her Shift key.

Former Spy editor Kurt Andersen was haunted by his past.

Online-video talent agent George Ruiz was excited about his afternoon meetings today.

Anyone else's tweets we should keep an eye on? Send us more Twitter usernames, please.

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<![CDATA[Shira Lazar, Kevin Rose's Latest Fling]]> Having famously "plowed through" San Francisco's eligible bachelorettes, Digg founder Kevin Rose went L.A. for his most recent paramour, Shira Lazar. Who is this Web-video wannabe with links to Dov Charney and Julia Allison?


Has a real media job. Lazar has already achieved something beyond the reach of most fameballs: Steady employment with a large, traditional media business. She hosts Open House LA and First Look LA on KNBC, the Los Angeles-based NBC station. (She's also a host on the Reelz channel, whatever that is.)

Has lived in LA since 2004. Lazar is something of a personality in the self-proclaimed L.A. tech/blogging scene. (In this photo, she attempts to interview Perez Hilton.)

Dov Charney's stepsister. Lazar, described as a "hot peppy Jewish girl from Montreal" by one YouTube user, went to the same Canadian school as Charney, now the CEO of American Apparel, but 14 years apart. When she interviewed her scandal-plagued stepbrother last August, she did not mention his history of sexual-harassment lawsuits, or, in fact, any relationship to Charney at all. That's family loyalty for you! Also not disclosed in the video: Her habit of picking up free clothes from American Apparel. (TV stars get tons of free clothing from airtime-hungry designers, but not usually from their stepbrother's firm.)

Went to Emerson College. Bachelor's degree in TV/video.

Participated in the 2005 Ujena Bikini Jam.

Flirted with TechCrunch's Michael Arrington. Lazar showed up at a TechCrunch party last July. The doughy blogger accosted her and asked her why she was there. That encounter begat a working relationship where she tried making a few video clips for him. The talks never went anywhere, as she's on contract with NBC through February.

Began dating Rose near the end of November. No professional interest here: "Rose just wants to bang hot chicks off his Twitter list," says one informant who has observed their relationship closely. He does have a large online following, thanks to the popularity of Digg, his news-discussion site, and Diggnation, a companion online-video series where he drinks and discusses Digg headlines on camera. Could Lazar be hoping to leverage Rose's crowd?

Drew controversy at the Sundance Festival. Arrington — perhaps miffed that his play for Lazar went nowhere? — complained that Lazar had cheated to win 24 Hours at Sundance, a competition organized by Rose and Kutcher — and also claimed she'd been bragging about dating one of the organizers. Assuming Demi Moore has nothing to worry about, that would be Rose.

Went to Barack Obama's inauguration with Julia Allison. Allison, the Time Out dating columnist who briefly pursued Rose and remained obsessed for months afterward, claims she's over him. Curious, then, that she cozied up to Lazar in Washington, D.C., offering Lazar her spare ticket to the inaugural. Aubrey Sabala, a Digg marketing manager, may have helped make the introduction hobnobbed with the two in D.C. That's especially curious because I've noticed how extraordinarly protective Digg employees have become about their founder's love life lately. Introducing his girlfriend to the famously indiscreet Allison hardly seems like the way to further that goal. Then again, perhaps that's why Sabala dived between them in the last photo below. Update: Allison, in an expletive-laced IM conversation, informed me that Meghan Asha, her Silicon Valley heiress sidekick, met Lazar at Sundance and subsequently introduced the two.

How serious are they? This is Rose we're talking about, who's not known for his long-term relationships. And the two live and work in different cities. Sean Percival, an L.A. tech personality, says it's over already.


(Photos via Twitpic, Nonsociety, TheChimp.net, LAist, and AnchorBabes)

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<![CDATA[Demo vs. TechCrunch beef has entrepreneurs chewing softly]]> It's the echo chamber's busiest week of the year. Chris Shipley kicked off the Demo startup conference on Sunday in San Diego. Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis have amassed an army for TechCrunch20 TechCrunch40 TechCrunch50. We're curious: Which one are you going to, and why? Tell us in the comments. One prominent tech blogger told Valleywag he's splitting his time between the two shows because he doesn't want to offend either Shipley or Arrington.

No such dilemma for cam queen Shira Lazar, a Los Angeles TV personality and Seesmic comment diva who's been shamelessly flirting with Arrington in public, online, for months. Lazar has landed in San Francisco for the TechCrunch show. Here's a video showing her having to deal with Michael Arrington and preparing for the big TechCrunchOrgy. You can stop watching after she mockingly tells Arrington how great he is, unless you're really into watching Lazar pick out her wardrobe.

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<![CDATA[Lame as it ever was, TechCrunch party spawns much better afterparty]]> TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is viciously critical of Web startups that make their users pay for their wares. But he's perfectly happy to charge party sponsors for booths. The return on investment was hard to find at TechCrunch's annual party held at August Capital's Sand Hill Road offices on Friday. The booths, in the midst of free booze, pretty people, and business cards to swap, went completely unnoticed. The party, TechCrunch's third annual event held with the VC firm, was unremarkable. But the afterparty was legendary. We got in and took photos of the whole thing.

At August, things got crowded up real fast. There were more women in the crowd this year, a change from sausagefests past. But they were hardly breaking Valley gender barriers. The marketers at the Plista booth lamented that their competitors were getting attention by hiring cute girls to serve free beer. (I still don't remember what Plista does.) A fellow with an accent — possibly a put-on — asked Yahoo Tech Ticker cohost Sarah Lacy if she worked in PR, because "you're so pretty." Here's Lacy's account of the conversation:

Dude: "You girls are really lovely you must work in PR."
Lacy: "Did you really just say that? That's incredibly insulting. Never say that to a woman in any business setting."
Dude: "No, I just mean because every pretty girl I've met here is in PR."
Lacy: "Yes, I know what you meant. that's why it's insulting. It's like assuming a woman in an office is a secretary."
Dude: "Blah blah."
Lacy: "You know what? There's a lot of people i actually want to talk to here." (walks off)

He came up to me TWICE after that, interrupting conversations to apologize.

Lacy: "Look, I don't care dude. just don't ever say it again because it's textbook insulting."

Everyone was mesmerized by Julia Allison, the former Star editor-at-large (read: TV spokesperson) turned Wired covergirl. That is, if you were important enough to warrant a conversation with her. Once the 30 seconds of polite time she gives you is up she'd turn free agent and could easily be stolen by somebody like Facebook's Dave Morin. Speaking of being mesmerized, rap impresarios MC Hammer and Chamillionaire showed up as well. They mingled amongst the geek kids talking about tech and rap while the Olds just guffawed at the entire thing from afar.

As the party wound up and the business-card-swapping got all the more frantic, Duck9's Larry Chiang put his afterparty plan into motion. His brilliant scheme: Send the entrepreneurs a URL with an invite to the Four Seasons Palo Alto and misdirect the venture capitalists with an otherwise identical invite to the Westin — a plausible location, since that was where Chamillionaire was staying. For non-VCs, the choice came down to Chiang's pool party at the Four Seasons, or Julia Allison's expedition to the Cheesecake Factory with Randi Zuckerberg, the nerd chanteuse and sister of Facebook CEO Mark. I crashed the pool party. I like to think I made the right decision for Valleywag readers.

At the Seasons, we saw Brian Solis working the crowds like a pro. Justin Kan of Justin.tv enjoying the jacuzzi in his underwear surrounded by girls. Shira Lazar mingled with Michael Arrington (perhaps prepping for an interview). And I even witnessed Jason Baptiste of Publictivity pitch a movie deal to Sarah Lacy based on her book. Michael Cera to play Zuckerberg anyone?

Which brings us to a tweak in Arrington's business model. Michael, instead of charging sponsors for booths at the party party, why not sell sponsorships at the afterparty? I don't remember any of the companies who paid for my attention on Sand Hill Road. But the scenes of Silicon Valley's finest stumbling around at poolside? Burned into my memory.

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