Playboy model, photo producer and radio host Mikki Chernoff is doing the hard part – racing all around Houston as part of an adventure challenge for charity, The Great Raise Houston.
Started by former winners of The Amazing Race, the event donates 100% of its proceeds to the Houston Food Bank and Casa de Esperanza de los Ninos, a children’s charity. Mikki and her teammate Zubi will compete against nine other teams on a series of obstacle courses and challenges around Houston from May 1st-3rd.
Like we said, that’s the tough part -- the easy part is making a donation via this online form.
We know that not everybody gets his news from the BBC. If that’s the case with you, you may have missed this story:
PLAYBOY CUSHION ROBBERY IN FRANCE A goods train in southern France has been attacked by robbers who made off with cushions bearing the Playboy logo. The attack happened in the northern suburbs of Marseille, the regional newspaper La Provence reports.
It says the thieves blocked the track with sleepers, causing the 700m (760-yard) train to screech to a halt, and forced open a number of containers.
Apart from the Playboy cushions, police said it was not clear what else was taken. The train driver was not harmed. The car used in the robbery was later found burnt.
(Note: the cushion in the accompanying photo was not the item actually purloined.)
As they put it: "This awesome suite features an outdoor cantilevered jacuzzi pool with glass sides, and the best view of the Las Vegas strip anywhere. There's also a media room, full bar, huge living room with fireplace, pop-up plasma TVs, glass elevator, rotating beds with ceiling mirrors above them and a fully-equipped gym. The Sky Villa suite will accommodate up to 250 people for parties. The Playboy suite is currently the most expensive hotel suite in the world, costing upwards of £20,000 [about $40,000] for one night of partying. But hey, if you get together 250 of your closest friends, and each of you chip-in £80, you can spend a night partying at the Playboy suite in Las Vegas and live like a celebrity for one night in one of the coolest hotel suites on the planet!"
We heard rumblings in 2006 about a Congressional candidate in northern Indiana who called a press conference to shred what he said was an original first issue of Playboy. Ouch! Turns out he's a lawyer and former prosecutor named Tony Zirkle, running for Congress as a Republican near South Bend. We have posted a photo taken in his office at the "event" but must warn you it is not easy to look at. The point of the shredding was something about how men should "focus their attention on their wives" because that might strengthen their marriages and allow their "creativity and untapped talents" to be released, which Zirkle said would ultimately help boost the economy.
So, Zirkle is back in the news -- and it involves another disturbing photo (after the break) that takes this amusing (except for the shredding) story into the realm of the despicable. Zirkle, who is again running for Congress (do you just sign up somewhere?), decided to accept an invitation to speak to a group about his ongoing anti-pornography campaign (about 10 years ago he helped prosecute a number of South Bend adult bookstore owners). Trouble is, the group was the American National Socialist Workers Party, a.k.a. Nazis! The Nazis snapped the photo of his keynote address and posted it on their website, compelling a local Republican leader to note to the South Bend Tribune that Nazism, fascism and socialism are "polar opposites" of the party platform. Also, that Zirkle has been disinvited from any future Republican functions.
Perhaps you’re a horror enthusiast tired of the pointless remakes Hollywood is churning out (Was anyone clamoring for a redo of Prom Night?) Or perhaps you loved Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth. Either way, you’ve got to check out The Orphanage. Available now on DVD and Blu-ray, this Spanish-language blockbuster produced by del Toro and directed by J.A. Bayona proves to be the ultra-rare genre picture that is simultaneously chilling and genuinely heartbreaking. After returning to the seaside orphanage where she grew up with the intention of opening a home for handicapped children, Laura and her family stir up the angry spirit of a disfigured boy, Tomás (pictured). When Laura’s young son vanishes without a trace after talking to his new “imaginary” friends, the distraught mother must confront her past memories and the lost souls haunting the orphanage to unravel the mystery of her son’s disappearance.
A “mirdie” is a male girdle. It is also the nickname you will have for life, if one of your friend sees your wearing one in the locker room. That did stop the company Solidea from making a “Uomo” collection to “support, shape and tone.”
Maude Maggart has gained a following by singing standards such as “Always” and “Star Dust.” In her new show “Speaking of Dreams” which runs at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel through May 10, she adds some modern songs to her repertoire. Maggart met with Playboy‘s Joe Westerfield to discuss her new show, the state of cabaret, and her sister Fiona Apple.
PLAYBOY: How does someone your age, 33, get into cabaret? MAGGART: I sang a standard at the funeral of family friend, composer Marshall Barer, and the singer Andrea Marcovicci heard me. Afterward she told me I should consider singing that kind of song and offered to help me. A couple of years went by before I took her up on it. She asked what I was interested in and suggested music from the 1920s and 1930s because she thought that would be appropriate for my voice. Then she helped me pick out songs, create my first show and get a booking at the Algonquin.
PLAYBOY: Most people think of cabaret as Marlene Dietrich singing in a dingy dark room. How would you disabuse them of that notion? MAGGART: First of all cabaret is noun, not an adjective. One of the worst abusers of that is Simon Cowell, who always says “Oh, you’re toooo cabaret.” He doesn’t seem to know what the word means. A cabaret is a room where people traditionally sing songs from the Great American Songbook, but they don’t have to.
The Drambuie Pursuit is a grueling 100-mile race consisting of hiking, rafting and biking. Oh yeah—it takes place all in one day. The trail follows Bonnie Prince Charlie’s famous flight through the Scottish Highlands in 1746. This year Drambuie extended invitations to Americans and of all people, the actor Jerry O’Connell accepted Europe’s premiere iron man challenge. We wanted to know why.
PLAYBOY: Why? O’CONNELL: By no means am I a professional athlete. They reached out to me and said, “We’d like you to be on the American team. We are going to hook you up with people who will make sure that you don’t die.” There was a writers’ strike, nobody was really working and I figured that it would be a good way to get back in shape. It could be fun.
PLAYBOY: We didn’t really peg you as a thrill seeker. O’CONNELL: I’m not at all. My father once told me that fear is a good emotion because it is a sign of intelligence. I remember going skiing a couple of times and walking down the backside of a mountain. I think this could be good for me.
PLAYBOY: Any more added motivation? O’CONNELL: I am a quitter by nature. I’m somebody who likes to quit when it’s too much and by talking to you about this I now feel like I have to finish so I’m a bit worried about that. Also my brother is going to be on an opposing team and we’ll have a side bet. I’m motivated to compete under the American flag, but truly I just want to beat my brother.
It was pop culture bliss this past weekend during the third annual New York Comic-Con, which has quickly become the largest convention of its kind on the East Coast.
Looking to hobnob with your favorite comic book artist? Jonesing for an autograph from Eva Mendes and Frank Miller? Do you want to find out how to write for video games? What about sitting in on a panel with the creators of the new animated Star Wars series?
You could do all that and more, including getting up close and personal with a Playmate. Cathy St. George, Miss August 1982, was a guest at the convention and we chatted with her to find out what she’s been up to:
Check back to see more clips from the convention that include Playboy magazine cartoonist Doug Sneyd and the beautiful model and comic book writer, Andrea Grant.
Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, a respected one-stop shop for journalists, has named the “85 wonders of the journalism world,” including, under Story forms and shapes, the Playboy Interview. (Clark and two colleagues describe this selection, for some reason, as “whimsical,” which would apply only if we had ever interviewed Theodor Geisel.)
They are attempting to narrow down the list and invite public comment, although users must first register.
It’s not exactly an iron law, but for the last quarter century, it’s been a pretty good rule of thumb: when the American people go into the voting booth, they vote for the candidate with whom they would most like to have a beer.
In 1980 and 1984, they picked breezy Ronald Reagan over-pious Jimmy Carter and dour Walter Mondale. In 1988, they picked affable George H. W. Bush over stuffy Michael Dukakis.
In 1992 and 1996, Elvis-emulating Bill Clinton beat the now wimpy Bush and the sour Bob Dole. And in 2000, frat boy George W. Bush beat the sighing Al Gore and the stiff John Kerry.
“Thought you might get a kick out of this,” says D.B. of Aliso Viejo, California, “a Playboy Bunny carrot being sold on eBay. It was found in a bag of carrots.”
If you need an extra push to bid, the seller notes helpfully that bunnies eat carrots.
Like his music, Ben Watkins has been on an epic journey. His name might not sound familiar but he has been involved with various bands and genres of music, including the scoring of several films. Today he releases his seventh Juno Reactor album, Gods and Monsters (check out our review right here). We recently caught up with the artist to discuss the past, present and future of his band.
PLAYBOY: Gods and Monsters is one of your most ambitious efforts to date. Can you tell us a little bit about the recording process and why it took almost four years to follow-up Labyrinth? WATKINS: On Gods & Monsters I didn’t have a road map, or if I did, it was three-dimensional and I felt I could go anywhere—try out anything under the Juno Reactor flag. I usually go pretty mad as I enter the vortex of an album, not a good time to be around me, nothing seems to make sense. I get job envy and I usually wish I were a marine biologist. Slowly the pieces come together, harder on this album as I saw it as a driving album not club, not live, just driving with your iPod on shuffle.
Colleagues from several international editions of Playboy visited our office this week. From left to right: Yan Ceh, editor-in-chief of Playboy France; Istvan Bus, Deputy Editor of Playboy Hungary; Olga Alekseenko, co-publisher of Playboy Russia; and Luis Guerri, editor of Playboy Argentina.
Playboy model, photo producer and radio host Mikki Chernoff is doing the hard part – racing all around Houston as part of an adventure challenge for charity, 
We know that not everybody gets his news from the BBC. If that’s the case with you, you may have missed 
ProTraveler considers the "10 Of The Coolest Hotel Suites In The World," including, at No. 2, the 
We heard rumblings in 2006 about a Congressional candidate in northern Indiana who called a press conference to shred what he said was an original first issue of Playboy. Ouch! Turns out he's a lawyer and former prosecutor named Tony Zirkle, running for Congress as a Republican near South Bend. We have posted a photo taken in his office at the "event" but must warn you it is not easy to look at. The point of the shredding was something about how men should "focus their attention on their wives" because that might strengthen their marriages and allow their "creativity and untapped talents" to be released, which Zirkle said would ultimately help boost the economy. 
Perhaps you’re a horror enthusiast tired of the pointless remakes Hollywood is churning out (Was anyone clamoring for a redo of Prom Night?) Or perhaps you loved Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth. Either way, you’ve got to check out 
This is the worst pitch I received this week:
Maude Maggart has gained a following by singing standards such as “Always” and “Star Dust.” In her new show “Speaking of Dreams” which runs at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel through May 10, she adds some modern songs to her repertoire. Maggart met with Playboy‘s Joe Westerfield to discuss her new show, the state of cabaret, and her sister Fiona Apple.
Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, a respected one-stop shop for journalists, has named the “
It’s not exactly an iron law, but for the last quarter century, it’s been a pretty good rule of thumb: when the American people go into the voting booth, they vote for the candidate with whom they would most like to have a beer.
“Thought you might get a kick out of this,” says D.B. of Aliso Viejo, California, “a Playboy Bunny carrot 
Like his music, Ben Watkins has been on an epic journey. His name might not sound familiar but he has been involved with various bands and genres of music, including the scoring of several films. Today he releases his seventh 
Colleagues from several international editions of Playboy visited our office this week. From left to right: Yan Ceh, editor-in-chief of Playboy France; Istvan Bus, Deputy Editor of Playboy Hungary; Olga Alekseenko, co-publisher of Playboy Russia; and Luis Guerri, editor of Playboy Argentina.